Current and capacitance hysteresis in porous semiconductor nanofilms

At present, the study of complex electrophysical characteristics of semiconductor nanofilaments and nanofilms is of interest: the presence of non-monotonic oscillating characteristics with memory, areas of negative differential resistance. The aim of this work is to experimentally study both the volt-ampere and volt-farad characteristics of semiconductor nanoporous structures. The studied samples of porous silicon with the p-n structure were obtained by electrochemical etching. Single-crystal silicon with a p – n+ junction was used as the initial substrate. The NI EL VIS II+ educational platform and the Agilent E4980A instrument were used to study the electrophysical characteristics. To measure the dependence of current on voltage, as well as capacitance on voltage, Inga contacts with a thickness of 370 nm each were applied to nanoporous films. Thus, in this work, the phenomena of current switching, hysteresis behavior of current, and capacitance of porous silicon nanofilms are experimentally studied. It was found that these effects are amplified by a factor of 3-4 when the films are irradiated with an infrared laser. The results of this work can be used in the field of nanotechnology to improve memory and sensory elements. The established experimental facts can serve as a basis for constructing physical theories.