Thermostimulated electron emission from polar cleavage of a triglycine sulfate crystal

Abstract

This paper reports the results of experimental investigations into thermostimulated electron emission from the positive and negative cleavage surfaces of a ferroelectric triglycine sulfate crystal. It is shown that the current density j of emission from the negative surface is universally higher than that from the positive surface over the entire range from room temperature to the Curie point. The shape of the j(T) curves substantially depends on the degree of natural unipolarity of the studied samples. The results obtained are discussed in the framework of the mechanism of field electron emission from the surface electronic states.