Memory characteristics of platinum nanoparticle-embedded MOS capacitors

The capacitance characteristics of platinum nanoparticle (NP)-embedded metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors with gate Al₂O₃ layers are studied in this work. The capacitance versus voltage (C-V) curves obtained for a representative MOS capacitor exhibit flat-band voltage shifts, demonstrating the presence of charge storages in the platinum NPs. The counterclockwise hysteresis and flat-band voltage shift, observed from the C-V curves imply that electrons are stored in a floating gate layer consisting of the platinum NPs present between the tunneling and control oxide layers in the MOS capacitor and that these stored electrons originate from the Si substrate. Moreover, the charge remains versus time curve for the platinum NP-embedded MOS capacitor is investigated in this work.