Regensburg 2013 – scientific programme

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DS: Fachverband Dünne Schichten

DS 35: Application of Thin Films

DS 35.4: Talk

Friday, March 15, 2013, 10:15–10:30, H8

Temperature and bias voltage induced electron tunneling through ultrathin TaOx barriers. — •Ievgen Nedrygailov¹, Katrin Asteman², Eckart Hasselbrink¹, and Detlef Diesing¹ — ¹Fakultät für Chemie, Universität Duisburg-Essen, D-45117 Essen, Germany — ²Heraeus Precious Metals GmbH & Co. KG, Conductive Polymer Division (Clevios), Chempark Leverkusen, 51368 Leverkusen, Germany

The ability to control tunneling of electrons through ultrathin (1-5 nm) dielectric films is a prerequisite for high-performance metal-insulator-metal (MIM) structures. Due to the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics and ultrafast transport of charge carriers through the built-in potential barrier these structures are widely used in nanoelectronic applications such as single electron transistors, thermometers, coolers, radiation and chemically excited hot charge carriers (chemicurrents) detectors.

In this contribution we discuss the use of Pt-TaOx-Ta structures for detection of chemicurrents under elevated temperature conditions, which are typical for higher pressure catalysis. We focus on the separation of the current of hot charge carriers and secondary effects, such as the current induced by the temperature difference across the tunnel junction or by an applied bias voltage. Possible advantages of ultrathin MIM structures over metal-semiconductor detectors, which are commonly used in chemicurrent studies, are also discussed.