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Electronic structure and transport measurements of amorphous transition-metal oxides: observation of Fermi glass behavior

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Abstract

We characterized the conduction mechanisms in thin sputtered films of three representative binary Me–O (Me=Ta, W, and Nb) systems as a function of oxygen content, by combining in situ chemical state and electronic band structure studies from X-ray photoemission with temperature-dependent transport measurements. Despite certain differences, these amorphous films all displayed Fermi glass behavior following an oxidation-induced transition from metallic to hopping conduction, down to a sub-percolation threshold. The electron localization estimated from the band structure was in good agreement with that from the transport measurements, and the two were used to construct phase diagrams of conduction in the degree of oxidation-conductivity coordinates, which should prove important in the design of resistive switching and other electronic devices.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by the SyNAPSE program of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency under contract HR0011-09-3-0001. The views, opinions, and/or findings contained in this article are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official views or policies, either expressed or implied, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or the Department of Defense. The authors gratefully acknowledge technical assistance of D.A.A. Ohlberg.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hewlett-Packard Laboratories, 1501 Page Mill Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94304, USA

    I. Goldfarb, F. Miao, J. Joshua Yang, W. Yi, J. P. Strachan, M.-X. Zhang, M. D. Pickett, G. Medeiros-Ribeiro & R. Stanley Williams

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  1. I. Goldfarb
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  2. F. Miao
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  3. J. Joshua Yang
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  7. M. D. Pickett
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Correspondence to I. Goldfarb.

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I. Goldfarb is on sabbatical leave from Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.

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Goldfarb, I., Miao, F., Yang, J.J. et al. Electronic structure and transport measurements of amorphous transition-metal oxides: observation of Fermi glass behavior. Appl. Phys. A 107, 1–11 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-012-6856-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-012-6856-z

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