jap banner
  • Volume/Page
  • Keyword
  • DOI
  • Citation
  • Advanced
   
 
 
 

Flickr Twitter UniPHY Group iResearch App Facebook

Journal of Applied Physics / Volume 34 / Issue 6
FREE

FULL-TEXT OPTIONS:

J. Appl. Phys. 34, 1793 (1963); http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1702682 (11 pages)

Generalized Formula for the Electric Tunnel Effect between Similar Electrodes Separated by a Thin Insulating Film

John G. Simmons

Burroughs Corporation, Burroughs Laboratories, Paoli, Pennsylvania

(Received 3 January 1963)

A formula is derived for the electric tunnel effect through a potential barrier of arbitrary shape existing in a thin insulating film. The formula is applied to a rectangular barrier with and without image forces. In the image force problem, the true image potential is considered and compared to the approximate parabolic solution derived by Holm and Kirschstein. The anomalies associated with Holm's expression for the intermediate voltage characteristic are resolved. The effect of the dielectric constant of the insulating film is discussed in detail, and it is shown that this constant affects the temperature dependence of the J‐V characteristic of a tunnel junction.

© 1963 The American Institute of Physics

RELATED DATABASES

Scopus

View This Record in Scopus

ARTICLE DATA

Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.1702682

PUBLICATION DATA

ISSN

0021-8979 (print)  
1089-7550 (online)

Publisher

$abstract.society.value is a Member of CrossRef The American Institute of Physics

  1. J. C. Fisher and I. Giaever, J. Appl. Phys. 32, 172 (1961)JAPIAU000032000002000172000001. [ISI]
  2. A. Sommerfeld and H. Bethe, Handbüch der Physik von Geiger und Sched (Julius Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1933), Vol. 24/2, p. 450.
  3. R. Holm, J. Appl. Phys. 22, 569 (1951)JAPIAU000022000005000569000001. [ISI]
  4. R. Holm and B. Kirschstein, Z. Tech. Physik 16, 488 (1935).
  5. D. Bohm, Quantum Theory (Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1951), p. 275.
  6. By the substitution V(x) = eta+[cursive phi](x), we have inherently assumed that the width Deltas of the barrier in the range Ex>V(x)>eta is constant and equal to the barrier width at the Fermi level. This assumption is justified for practical barriers, because Deltas varies slowly below the Fermi level [Fig. 4 (a)], and the integral has effective values only when Ex~=eta.
  7. Note added in proof. Simmons has shown [see J. G. Simmons, J. Appl. Phys. 34, 238 (1963)JAPIAU000034000001000238000001] that, at relatively low voltages, Eq. (27) reduces to

    [dformula J = J[sub L](V + beta V[sup 3]),]

    [dformula beta = [(Ae)[sup 2]/96 [cursive phi]] - [Ae[sup 2]/32 [cursive phi][sup (3/2)]],]

    which is in good quantitative agreement with the experimental results of Knauss and Breslow [ISI]
    [see H. P. Knauss and R. A. Breslow, Proc. IRE 50, 1843 (1962)].

  8. W. R. Smythe, Static and Dynamic Electricity (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1950), Chap. IV.
  9. R. Holm, Electric Contacts Handbook (Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1958), 3rd ed., p. 433.
  10. R. Holm and W. Meissner, Z. Physik 74, 715 (1932);, 86, 787 (1933).
  11. J. G. Simmons, G. J. Unterkofler, and W. W. Allen, Appl. Phys. Letters 2, 78 (1963)APPLAB000002000004000078000001. [ISI]
  12. A. R. von Hippel, Dielectric Materials and Applications (Tech. Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1961), Pt. V.

View Scopus articles citing this one (1177) Scopus Help

Close

Google Calendar

ADVERTISEMENT

Your Recent History Recent History Help

Recently Viewed

  1. Generalized Formula for the Electric Tunnel Effect between Similar Electrodes Separated by a Thin Insulating Film
  2. Detailed Balance Limit of Efficiency of p‐n Junction Solar Cells
  3. Thermal Expansion of Ice
  4. Electrodynamic Containment of Charged Particles
  5. Behavior of Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon) under High Pressures
Go to AIP Home
Copyright © American Institute of Physics
close