In this work, we present a silicon nanocrystal memory showing single electron charging/discharging phenomena at room temperature. A clear staircase behavior in the drain current characteristic, measured as a function of the gate voltage and of time, is observed, where each step corresponds to the capture/emission of one electron in a silicon dot over the channel. A simple model, which allows for the evaluation of the average charging/discharging time in a silicon dot and for the impact of a charged silicon dot over the channel, is finally proposed. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.