Abstract
The hot electron transport properties and growth morphology of ultrathin Pt/CaF2/Si(111) metal-insulator-semiconductor structures have been characterized in situ by ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Platinum thicknesses from submonolayer to 50 Å and CaF2 thicknesses from 2 to 10 ML have been characterized. The STM images of the Pt/CaF2/Si(111) structures show the atomic steps of the underlying CaF2 morphology, as well as the formation of Pt nodules, which nucleate at step edges and defect sites. Some BEEM spectra show an anomalous peak near 2 eV, which has not been observed in previous studies of other metal/CaF2/Si(111) structures. The localized nature of this peak indicates that it results from an interaction between the ballistic electrons and fluorine vacancies at the Pt–CaF2 interface.
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