Capacitance switching in SiO 2 thin film embedded with Ge nanocrystals caused by ultraviolet illumination

A structure of indium tin oxide/ SiO 2 embedded with Ge nanocrystal (nc-Ge) /p-Si substrate was fabricated. The capacitance of the structure can be switched to a high-capacitance or low-capacitance state by an ultraviolet (UV) illumination. The increase (or decrease) in the capacitance is accompanied with the decrease (or increase) in the oxide resistance. The capacitance switching is explained in terms of the UV illumination-induced charging and discharging in the nc-Ge. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.published_or_final_versio