The important contribution of photo-generated charges to the silicon nanocrystals photo-charging/discharging-response time at room temperature in MOS-photodetectors
The results are reported of a detailed investigation into the photogenerated changes that occur in the capacitance voltage (C-V) characteristics of Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (MOS) photodetector, having a silicon nanocrystals (Si-ncs) embedded in SiOx=1.5 tunnel oxide layers. In order to study the influence of photon energy on charging/discharging photo-response of nanocrystal-based MOS structures, we have examined photo-capacitance-voltage (photo-CV) measurements at both light intensities 45 mu W and 75 mu W and wavelengths 436 nm and 595 nm. The photo-CV measurements indicate the important contribution of photo-generated charges to the charging/discharging mechanism. The (Si-ncs) charging/discharging photo-response time is evaluated to be 300 s at wavelength of 595 nm for 75 mu W optical power at room temperature. This response time is influenced by the photogenerated-holes lifetime in the Si-ncs. Published by Elsevier Ltd.