Electrical characteristics of Si nanocrystal distributed in a narrow layer in the gate oxide near the gate synthesized with very-low-energy ion beams

A nanocrystal Si (nc-Si) distributed in a narrow layer in the gate oxide close to the gate is synthesized with Si ion implantation and the electrical characteristics of the nc-Si structure are examined. A steplike flatband voltage shift as a function of changing voltage is observed, indicating single electron or hole trapping in the nc-Si at room temperature, whereas the nc-Si structure has shown good charge-retention characteristics.