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

A Ge/GeO₂ core/shell nanostructure embedded in an Al ₂O₃ 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.