Conductive bridge random access memory characteristics of SiCN based transparent device due to indium diffusion.

In this work, the transparent bipolar resistive switching characteristics of a SiCN-based ITO/SiCN/AZO structure due to In diffusion from ITO is studied. The SiCN based device is found to be 80% transparent in the visible wavelength region. This device, with AZO as both top and bottom electrodes, does not show any RRAM property due to deposition of the high quality O2-free SiCN film. Replacing the AZO top electrode with ITO in this device results in good resistive switching (RS) characteristics with a high on/off ratio and long retention. Replacing the SiCN film with ZrO2 also results in excellent RS characteristics due to the formation of an oxygen vacancies filament inside the ZrO2 film. A resistance ratio of on/off is found to be higher in the SiCN based device compared to that of the ZrO2 device. Diffusion of In from ITO into the SiCN film on application of high positive voltage during forming can be attributed to the occurrence of RS in the device, which is confirmed by the analyses of energy dispersive spectroscopy and secondary-ion mass spectrometry. This study shows a pathway for the fabrication of CBRAM based transparent devices for non-volatile memory application.

Emission characteristics of self-assembled strained Ge1-xSnx islands for sources in the optical communication region.

Self-assembled strained Ge1-x Sn x islands on Si (100) have been grown at a low temperature using molecular beam epitaxy. The in-built strain and fraction of Sn in the islands have been estimated using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and high resolution x-ray diffraction study of grown samples. No-phonon assisted transition in the optical communication wavelength range of 1.4-1.8 µm has been observed in the Ge1-x Sn x island samples. The direct band gap transition intensity is found to increase with a growth in Sn concentration, with this increase in intensity sustained up to a temperature of 130 K in Ge1-x Sn x islands. The observed electroluminescence in p-i-n devices fabricated on Ge1-x Sn x island samples above a threshold bias of 4 V makes them attractive for future Si based optical devices.

Optical photoresponse of CuS-n-Si radial heterojunction with Si nanocone arrays fabricated by chemical etching.

The paper deals with the fabrication of a p-CuS-n-Si nanocone heterojunction based highly sensitive broad band photodetector. Cone-like one dimensional Si nanostructures formed by metal assisted chemical etching, with superior antireflection characteristics have been used as templates for fabrication of the heterojunction. Covellite CuS material was synthesized by a simple chemical reaction for used as target material for the fabrication of p-CuS-n-Si nanocone heterojunctions via pulsed laser ablation. The effect of surface texturing of Si (cone like nanostructure vs. planar) on spectral photoresponse and detection is reported.

Electroluminescence from metal-insulator-semiconductor tunneling diodes using compressively strained Ge on Si0.5Ge0.5 virtual substrates.

Direct band gap optical transition in compressively strained Ge film is demonstrated for the first time under current injection through a metal-insulator-semiconductor diode structure. The compressively strained Ge layer is grown on the relaxed Si0.5Ge0.5 substrate by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The electroluminescence of direct band gap emission from strained Ge film and TO phonon assisted transition in Si and SiGe from the virtual substrate is observed under different current injections. The signature of heavy hole and light hole splitting in valence band is observed in the electroluminescence spectra from strained Ge layer. The temperature dependent electroluminescence characteristics have been studied over a temperature range of 10-300 K. AC frequency modulation for the Ge direct band electroluminescence has been studied to improve the emission efficiency over the DC bias.

Optical and electrical properties of undoped and doped Ge nanocrystals.

Size-dependent photoluminescence characteristics from Ge nanocrystals embedded in different oxide matrices have been studied to demonstrate the light emission in the visible wavelength from quantum-confined charge carriers. On the other hand, the energy transfer mechanism between Er ions and Ge nanocrystals has been exploited to exhibit the emission in the optical fiber communication wavelength range. A broad visible electroluminescence, attributed to electron hole recombination of injected carriers in Ge nanocrystals, has been achieved. Nonvolatile flash-memory devices using Ge nanocrystal floating gates with different tunneling oxides including SiO2, Al2O3, HfO2, and variable oxide thickness [VARIOT] tunnel barrier have been fabricated. An improved charge storage characteristic with enhanced retention time has been achieved for the devices using VARIOT oxide floating gate.