Photon-induced conduction modulation in SiO{sub 2} thin films embedded with Ge nanocrystals

Journal Article · Mon Mar 05 00:00:00 EST 2007 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.2711198· OSTI ID:20971867

Ding, L; Chen, T P; Yang, M; Wong, J I; Liu, Y; Yu, S F; Zhu, F R; Tan, M C; Fung, S; Tung, C H; Trigg, A D ^[1]

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1. School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798 (Singapore)

The authors report the photon-induced conduction modulation in SiO{sub 2} thin films embedded with germanium nanocrystals (nc-Ge). The conduction of the oxide could be switched to a higher- or lower-conductance state by a ultraviolet (UV) illumination. The conduction modulation is caused by charging and discharging in the nc-Ge due to the UV illumination. If the charging process is dominant, the oxide conductance is reduced; however, if the discharging process is dominant, the oxide conductance is increased. As the conduction can be modulated by UV illumination, it could have potential applications in silicon-based optical memory devices.

• OSTI ID: 20971867
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 90, Issue 10; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2711198; (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
GERMANIUM
ILLUMINANCE
MEMORY DEVICES
MODULATION
NANOSTRUCTURES
PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY
PHOTONS
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON
SILICON OXIDES
THIN FILMS
ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION