MBE-grown Si and Si1−xGex quantum dots embedded within epitaxial Gd2O3 on Si(111) substrate for floating gate memory device

Abstract

Si and Si1−xGex quantum dots embedded within epitaxial Gd2O3 grown by molecular beam epitaxy have been studied for application in floating gate memory devices. The effect of interface traps and the role of quantum dots on the memory properties have been studied using frequency-dependent capacitance–voltage and conductance–voltage measurements. Multilayer quantum dot memory comprising four and five layers of Si quantum dots exhibits a superior memory window to that of single-layer quantum dot memory devices. It has also been observed that single-layer Si1−xGex quantum dots show better memory characteristics than single-layer Si quantum dots.