Structural and electrical properties of Ge nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 by ion implantation and annealing -: art. no. 104330

Silicon dioxide (SiO2) on Si layers with embedded germanium nanocrystals (Ge-ncs) were fabricated using Ge+ implantation and subsequent annealing. Transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry have been used to study the Ge redistribution in the SiO2 films as a function of annealing temperature. A monolayer of Ge-ncs near the Si/SiO2 interface was formed under specific annealing conditions. This layer, with a nc density and mean size measured to be, respectively, 1.1 X 10(12)/cm(2) and 5 nm, is located at approximately 4 nm from the Si/SiO2 interface. Capacitance-voltage measurements were performed on metal-oxide-semiconductor structures containing such implanted SiO2 layers in order to study their electrical properties. The results indicate a strong memory effect at relatively low programming voltages (< 5 V) due to the presence of Ge-ncs near the Si/SiO2 interface. (c) 2005 American Institute of Physics.