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Title:	Transport properties of NC-Si / A-SiO2 superlattices and their applications in non-volatile memory
Author:	Koneru, Lakshmi Susmitha
View Online:	njit-etd2004-006 (x, 95 pages ~ 3.7 MB pdf)
Department:	Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Electrical Engineering
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Tsybeskov, Leonid (Committee chair) Misra, Durgamadhab (Committee member) Sosnowski, Marek (Committee member)
Date:	2003-08
Keywords:	Electrical transport properties Nanocrystalline-Si/amorphous-SiO2 superlattices
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	The dc current-voltage characteristics, ac conductivity, equivalent capacitance, photocurrent transients of the n-Si/nanocrystalline-Si/amorphous-SiO2/Al heterostructure were measured in a wide range of illumination intensities for temperatures from 4.2 K to 300 K. Electrical transport properties of the nanocrystalline-Si/amorphous-SiO2 superlattices were discussed. The observed domination of the electron component at negative bias and of the hole component at positive bias above 0.7 V in a dc current allows to separate transport features of electrons and holes in a nc-Si/a-SiO2 superlattices. Transport of electrons is thermally activated if potential barrier at c-Si/SL interface of 70 meV is suppressed and several activation energies for different temperature regions were determined. Transport of holes is well described by the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling theory for a number of illumination intensities in the measured temperature region. Tunneling mechanism is additionally supported by an independence of the photocurrent decay on temperature. Two maxima in ac conductivity at 0 V and at 0.8 V were related to trap-assisted conductivity and to alignment of energy levels in the heterostructure (photoconductivity resonance), respectively. Time-dependent photocurrent measurements proved a decrease of the photoconductivity due to a decreasing mobility of holes and misalignment of the energy levels at bias above O.8V. Density of traps of 3.5x1011cm-2 and trapping time of 30 μs were found. An application of nanocrystalline Si/amporphous SiO2 superlattices in non-volatile memory devices is discussed.