Extraction of the characteristics of Si nanocrystals by the charge pumping technique.

In this paper, the characteristics of silicon nanocrystals used as charge trapping centers in memory devices are examined using the two-level charge pumping (CP) technique performed as a function of frequency and energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM). The parameters extracted from the two methods such as the depth location, density and effective diameter of the nanocrystals are in good quantitative agreement. These results validate the charge pumping approach as a non-destructive powerful technique to access most of the properties of nanocrystals embedded in dielectrics and located at injection distances from the substrate surface not limited to the direct tunneling regime.