Abstract
I-V-characteristics have been measured for Au−TiO2−Ag structures with TiO2 layers of 30 and 180 nm thickness. The TiO2 films were grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) technique. In the case of negative bias on the Au electrode, the conduction currents through TiO2 layers follow the Fowler-Nordheim formula for field emission over several orders of magnitude. The bulk of the currents may be attributed to tunnelling, seemingly through a Schottky barrier at the Au−TiO2 junction. In the case of reversed polarity the currents are also observed, but cannot be interpreted as tunnelling.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
J. Sheng, N. Yoshida, J. Karasawa and T. Fukami: “Platinum doped titania film oxygen sensor integrated with temperature compensating thermistor”, Sens. Actuators B, Vol. 41, (1997), pp. 131–136.
M. Kadoshima, M. Hiratani and al.: “Rutile-type TiO2 thin film for high-k gate insulator”, Thin Solid Films, Vol. 424, (2003), pp. 224–228.
E.W. McFarland and J. Tang: “A photovoltaic device structure based on internal electron emission”, Nature, Vol. 421, (2003), pp. 616–618.
V. Repän, M. Laan, P. Paris, J. Aarik and V. Sammelselg: “Negative coronas: low current mode—pulse mode transition”, Czech. J. of Phys., Vol. 49, (1999), pp. 217–224.
V.T. Binh and Ch. Adessi: “New mechanism for electron emission from planar cold cathodes: the solid-state field-controlled electron emitter”, Phys. Rev. Lett., Vol. 85, (2000), pp. 864–867.
V.T. Binh, V. Semet and J.P. Dupin: “Novel electron sources”, Electrochem. Soc. Proc., Vol. 2000, (2001), pp. 157–166.
J. Aarik, A. Aidla, H. Mändar, T. Uustare and V. Sammelselg: “Anomalous effect of temperature on atomic layer deposition of titanium dioxide”, J. Crystal Growth, Vol. 220, (2000), pp. 531–537.
J. Aarik, A. Aidla, H. Mändar, T. Uustare and V. Sammelselg: “Influence of structure development on atomic layer deposition of TiO2 thin films”, Appl. Surf. Sci., Vol. 181, (2001), pp. 339–348.
M. Alvisi, G. Leo, A. Rizzo, L. Tapfer and L. Vasanelli: “Surface and interface morphology of thin oxide films investigated by X-ray reflectivity and atomic force microscopy”, Surface and Coatings Technology, Vol. 100–101, (1998), pp. 76–79.
J.G. Simmons: “Conduction in thin dielectric films”, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., Vol. 4, (1971), pp. 613–657.
R.G. Forbes: “Refining the application of Fowler-Nordheim theory”, Ultramicroscopy, Vol. 79, (1999), pp. 11–23.
E.H. Snow: “Fowler-Nordheim tunneling in SiO2 films”, Solid State Comm., Vol. 5, (1967), pp. 813–815.
M. Lenzlinger and E.H. Snow: “Fowler-Nordheim tunneling into thermally grown SiO2”, J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 40, (1969), pp. 278–283.
G. Lewicki and C.A. Mead: “Currents through thin films of aluminium nitride”, J. Chem. Phys. Solids, Vol. 29, (1968), pp. 1255–1267.
V.V. Zhirnov, G.J. Wojak, W.B. Choi, J.J. Cuomo and J.J. Hren: “Wide band gap materials for field emission devices”, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A, Vol. 15, (1997), pp. 1733–1738.
S.A. Fridrikhov and S.M. Movnin: Physical foundations of electronics, Vyshaya Shkola, Moscow, 1982, pp. 454, (In Russian).
N.S. Xu, Jun Chen and S.Z. Deng: “Physical origin of nonlinearity in the Fowler-Nordheim plot of field-induced emission from amorphous diamond films: Thermionic emission to field emission”, Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 76, (2000), pp. 2463–2465.
E.L. Murphy and R.H.Jr. Good: “Thermionic emission, field emission, and the transition region”, Phys. Rev., Vol. 102, (1956), pp. 1464–1473.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
About this article
Cite this article
Aarik, J., Bichevin, V., Jõgi, I. et al. Fowler-nordheim tunnelling in Au−TiO2−Ag film structures. centr.eur.j.phys. 2, 147–159 (2004). https://doi.org/10.2478/BF02476278
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/BF02476278