Enhanced charge storage capability of Ge/GeO2 core/shell nanostructure

A Ge/GeO2 core/shell nanostructure embedded in an Al2O3 gate dielectrics matrix was produced. A larger memory window with good data retention was observed in the fabricated metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) capacitor for Ge/GeO2 core/shell nanoparticles compared to Ge nanoparticles only, which is due to the high percentage of defects located on the surface and grain boundaries of the GeO2 shell. We believe that the findings presented here provide physical insight and offer useful guidelines to controllably modify the charge storage properties of indirect semiconductors through defect engineering