Intrinsic memory behavior of rough silicon nanowires and enhancement via facile Ag NPs decoration

In inorganic nanowire memory, both physical features rendered during synthesis and integration processes and intrinsic properties of materials are important because they present appropriate schemes for facile fabrication of an excellent memory device. We demonstrate that silicon nanowires (Si NWs) synthesized by an electroless etching (EE) method intrinsically present memory behavior via charge trapping of water molecules due to the rough surface created during synthesis. Additionally, using an electrochemical reaction of silicon with AgNO₃ solution, which produces Ag nanoparticles (NPs) with a blocking SiO₂ layer, we easily achieve a Ag NP hybrid Si NW memory device.