Abstract
The tunneling characteristics of a metal-insulator-metal junction are calculated in the framework of the two-band model, which takes into account the presence of the valence band for the insulator layer. It is demonstrated that, in the case where the Fermi level E F of the structure under investigation lies below the middle of the band gap of the insulator, the dependence of the tunneling current on the bias voltage across the junction contains portions with a negative differential resistance at V > E F/e. The iron-aluminum oxide-iron magnetoresistive junctions are considered as samples in which the effect under discussion can be observed. It is shown that, in the given case, the appearance of a portion with a negative differential resistance should be expected at voltages exceeding the Fermi energy \( E_{F_1 } \) for the spin-up electron band.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
L. Esaki, Usp. Fiz. Nauk 116, 569 (1975) [Long Journey into Tunneling: Nobel Lecture (The Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, 1974)].
R. Tsu and L. Esaki, Appl. Phys. Lett. 22, 562 (1973).
L. Esaki and P. J. Stiles, Phys. Rev. Lett. 16, 1108 (1966).
D. H. Chow and T. C. McGill, Appl. Phys. Lett. 48, 1485 (1986).
D. H. Chow and T. C. McGill, Appl. Phys. Lett. 52, 1485 (1987).
K. H. Gundlach, J. Appl. Phys. 44, 5005 (1973).
H. Ekhur and A. Hahn, J. Appl. Phys. 51, 1686 (1980).
M. Brunner, H. Ekhur, and A. Hahn, J. Appl. Phys. 53, 1596 (1982).
A. H. Davis and J. M. MacLaren, J. Appl. Phys. 87, 5224 (2000).
F. Montaigne, M. Hehn, and A. Schuhl, Phys. Rev. B: Condens. Matter 64, 144402 (2001).
S. Krishnamurthya, A.-B. Chen, and A. Sher, J. Appl. Phys. 84, 5353 (1998).
A. I. Khachaturov, Pis’ma Zh. Éksp. Teor. Fiz. 82(10), 728 (2005) [JETP Lett. 82 (10), 646 (2005)].
W. Harrison, Solid State Theory (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1970; Mir, Moscow, 1972).
S. Yuasa, T. Nagahama, A. Fukushima, et al., Nat. Mater. 3, 868 (2004).
T. Haysashi, H. Shimada, H. Shimizu, and M. Tanaka, J. Cryst. Growth 201/202, 689 (1999).
T. Haysashi, M. Tanako, K. Seto, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 71, 1825 (1997).
M. Tanako and Y. Higo, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 026602 (2001).
J. S. Moodera and G. Mathon, J. Magn. Magn. Mater. 200, 248 (1999).
R. C. Jaklevic and J. Lamb, Phys. Rev. B: Solid State 12, 4146 (1975).
J. Lambe and S. L. McCarthy, Phys. Rev. Lett. 37, 923 (1976).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Original Russian Text © T.A. Khachaturova, A.I. Khachaturov, 2008, published in Zhurnal Éksperimental’noĭ i Teoreticheskoĭ Fiziki, 2008, Vol. 134, No. 5, pp. 1006–1012.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Khachaturova, T.A., Khachaturov, A.I. Negative differential conductivity of metal-insulator-metal tunneling structures. J. Exp. Theor. Phys. 107, 864–869 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776108110174
Received:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1063776108110174