Effect of crystallinity on the memory effect of Ge nanocrystals synthesized by atom beam sputtering

The effect of crystallinity of Ge nanocrystals on the charge storage properties of the metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) structure has been investigated. MOS structure with Ge nanocrystals embedded in the oxide has been fabricated by using atom beam sputtering technique. After annealing at 600 °C in Ar + H₂ atmosphere, capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements show flat band voltage shift of ∼0.9 V. It which is a clear indication of the memory effect of Ge nanocrystals, while unannealed structure doesnot show any hysteresis in the C-V curve. Micro Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses show that crystalline content of Ge nanoparticles in the MOS structure has increased after annealing.