Observation of the single electron charging effect in nanocrystalline silicon at room temperature using atomic force microscopy

We have measured current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of individual surface oxidized nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) particles, which were grown in the gas phase of a plasma and which had well-defined grain sizes of less than 10 nm and a regular octahedron shape. The I-V characteristics were measured at room temperature using atomic force microscopy with conductive tips, which allows the grain size of nc-Si particles to also be measured directly. The measured I-V characteristics show staircaselike features. The period of the staircase increases with decreasing grain size, which is consistent with the single electron charging effect in nc-Si. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.