Multi-Level Capacitive Memory Effect in Metal/Oxide/Floating-Schottky Junction

We experimentally demonstrate that metal/oxide/floating-Schottky junction has multiple effective capacitances depending on the amount of electrons stored in the floating metal electrode. The oxide thin film covering the Schottky junction is used to trap electrons in the floating metal. The electron flow into and out of the floating metal is controlled by applying voltage pulses of opposite polarities onto the semiconductor substrate. With the amount of excess charges in the floating metal, the depletion capacitance of Schottky junction varies synchronously, which dominantly affects the effective capacitance of the whole junction. Interestingly, the capacitance of metal/oxide/floating-Schottky junction measured as a function of applied voltage pulse shows a hysteretic behavior, which supports its capacitive memory effect. It is expected that our metal/oxide/floating-Schottky junction can work as a memcapacitor capable of recording multiple switchable capacitance values and it can be readily fabricated with the current Si CMOS technology.