We report the strong size-dependent carrier injection process in quantum-confined silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon nitride films. As the diameter of silicon nanocrystals increases, the threshold voltage for carrier injection decreases whereas the number of injected carriers increases due to the quantum size effect. The tunneling time for the carrier injection is decreased by two orders of magnitude when the diameter of silicon nanocrystals is increased from 3.4 to 5.0 nm, and this is attributed to the enhanced nonresonant tunneling in the larger silicon nanocrystals.

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