Theoretical Considerations of Tunneling through Thin Film Heterojunctions.
Abstract
An 'atomic' barrier model of a metal-insulator-metal heterojunction is developed. This one-dimensional model consists of a square barrier, containing a number of uniformly spaced 'atomic' wells, between two Bohr-Sommerfeld metals. Within this model, the elastic tunneling transmission coefficient is calculated without approximation for a variety of externally applied electric fields. Several approximation schemes, based on extension of Zener's modified WKB approximation for interband tunneling, are considered. The effect of disorder on the nature of the electronic wavefunction in the insulating barrier is examined within the 'atomic' barrier model. A method of characterizing the nature of the electronic states near the 'band' edges of a thin topologically disordered insulating region is developed and interpreted in terms of theoretical notions which apply strictly only to bulk samples.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 03, 1975
- Accession Number
- ADA016936
Entities
People
- William C. Liepold
Organizations
- Pennsylvania State University