Charging phenomena in pentacene-gold nanoparticle memory device

The authors demonstrate a new organic memory system, using pentacene as the active semiconductor layer and citrate-stabilized gold (Au) nanoparticles as charge storage elements. A pronounced clockwise capacitance-voltage (C-V) hysteresis is observed with a memory window of 1.25-2.05 V achievable under 5-10 V programing range. Similar clockwise C-V hysteresis window and an almost constant full width at half maximum of the conductance peaks in conductance-voltage (G-V) characteristics, obtained in the frequency range of 50 kHz-1 MHz, indicated that positive charge trapping/detrapping originated mainly from the Au nanoparticles. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.