Carrier transport mechanisms of nonvolatile write-once-read-many-times memory devices with InP–ZnS core-shell nanoparticles embedded in a polymethyl methacrylate layer

Current-voltage (I-V) curves at 300 K for Al/InP–ZnS nanoparticles embedded in a polymethyl methacrylate layer/Al devices showed electrical bistability for write-once-read-many-times (WORM) memory devices. From the I-V curves, the ON/OFF ratio for the device with InP–ZnS nanoparticles was significantly larger than that for the device without InP–ZnS nanoparticles, indicative of the existence of charge capture in the InP nanoparticles. The estimated retention time of the ON state for the WORM memory device was more than 10 years. The carrier transport mechanisms for the WORM memory devices are described by using several models to fit the experimental I-V data.