Tunneling Current Research Articles

Characterization and Modeling of Quantum Dot Behavior in FDSOI Devices

A compact analytical model is proposed along with a parameter extraction methodology to accurately capture the steady-state (DC) sequential tunnelling current observed in the subthreshold region of the transfer IDS-VGS characteristics of MOSFETs at cryogenic temperatures. The model is shown to match measurements of p-MOSFETs and n-MOSFETs manufactured in a commercial 22nm FDSOI foundry technology, with reasonable accuracy across bias conditions and temperature (2 K -50 K). Furthermore, the extracted model parameters are used to analyze the impact of the gate and drain voltages and of layout geometry on the device characteristics.

Time-Dependent Landau-Ginzburg Equation-Based Ferroelectric Tunnel Junction Modeling With Dynamic Response and Multi-Domain Characteristics

Overcoming the drawbacks of the existing ferroelectric tunnel junction (FTJ) models which ignore the dynamic or multi-domain switching behaviors, we develop a more comprehensive FTJ model by combining the Time-Dependent Landau-Ginzburg (TDLG) equations to solve the multi-domain dynamic switching of ferroelectric layer and the Non-Equilibrium Green Function (NEGF) to solve the tunneling current. The model successfully reproduces the experimental results of our fabricated metal-ferroelectrics-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) FTJ. This model empowers us to predict both the dynamic and multi-state switching of FTJ, showing its promise for applications in the high-density data storage and analog computing.

Insulating potential shape created by ultrathin silicon oxide layers

A previously developed method for reconstructing the insulating potential pattern created by an ultrathin silicon oxide layer from the field dependences of the tunneling current has been modernized. Trapezoidal model potential parameters, that provide the dependence of the current-to-voltage logarithm derivative as close as possible to the experimental one, have been calculated. The approach to starting successive iterations of the potential has been changed in such a way that the functions calculated using the model shape are used rather than zeroing the first turning point coordinates in zero-order approximation. The modernized algorithm has been applied to the experimental field current dependences in n+-Si-SiO2-n-Si structures with an oxide thickness of 3.7 nm, that have a pronounced asymmetry of the tunneling current-voltage characteristics with respect to the external voltage polarity. The effective potential barrier reconstructed from the experimental data is always significantly thinner than the insulating layer, with its maximum shifted towards the contact with the polycrystalline material, and the effective mass of the tunneling electron is several times greater than the typical for thick silicon oxide. Keywords: degenerate polysilicon--silicon oxide--silicon, ultrathin oxide, tunneling current-voltage characteristics, potential pattern.

Design and simulations of a prototype nanocircuit to transmit microwave and terahertz harmonics generated with a mode-locked laser

Earlier, we focused a mode-locked laser on the junction of a scanning tunneling microscope. This superimposed currents at the first 200 harmonics of the laser pulse-repetition frequency on the DC tunneling current. The power at each harmonic varied inversely as the square of its frequency because the spectrum analyzer and its cable formed a low-pass filter. However, analysis suggests that in the tunneling junction, the harmonics do not decay below 45 THz. We propose to make nanocircuits to mitigate the roll-off of the output power up to 45 THz. Each nanocircuit will have an optical antenna to receive the laser radiation, field emission diodes to generate the harmonics, and filters to select the harmonics transmitted by a second antenna. Harmonics that are transmitted in a bandwidth that is proportional to the center frequency for that band have an output power proportional to the square of the center frequency because of the fixed spacing of the adjacent harmonics. Thus, these nanocircuits may provide the greatest output power at frequencies approaching 45 THz. The harmonics may be modulated by the presence of specific chemicals or other local phenomena. Thus, scanning the laser over a group of nanocircuits could be used to measure these phenomena with unprecedented resolution.

Microscopic physical origin of polarization induced large tunneling electroresistance in tetragonal-phase BiFeO3

Ferroelectric tunnel junctions have attracted intensive research interest due to the fundamental physics and potential applications in high-density data storage and neuromorphic computation. However, the intrinsic physical origin, especially at atomic scale, of polarization-controllable tunneling current is still controversial due to the degradation of ferroelectric polarization and the extrinsic conduction induced by defects or oxygen vacancies. Here, a large tunneling electroresistance effect of over 10,000% in a thick (∼15 nm) tetragonal-phase BiFeO3 thin film is observed, where a nanoscale point-contact geometry is delicately designed to reduce the extrinsic defect effects. By combining transmission electron microscopy and first-principles calculations, the atomic and electronic structures of BiFeO3 tunneling layer are investigated. The corresponding results indicate the different charge transfer occurs at the top and bottom interface, which induces distinct tunneling barrier asymmetry when the polarization direction is opposite.

Distance and Potential Dependence of Charge Transport Through the Reaction Center of Individual Photosynthetic Complexes

AbstractCharge separation and transport through the reaction center of photosystem I (PSI) is an essential part of the photosynthetic electron transport chain. A strategy is developed to immobilize and orient PSI complexes on gold electrodes allowing to probe the complex's electron acceptor side, the chlorophyll special pair P700. Electrochemical scanning tunneling microscopy (ECSTM) imaging and current–distance spectroscopy of single protein complex shows lateral size in agreement with its known dimensions, and a PSI apparent height that depends on the probe potential revealing a gating effect in protein conductance. In current–distance spectroscopy, it is observed that the distance‐decay constant of the current between PSI and the ECSTM probe depends on the sample and probe electrode potentials. The longest charge exchange distance (lowest distance‐decay constant β) is observed at sample potential 0 mV/SSC (SSC: reference electrode silver/silver chloride) and probe potential 400 mV/SSC. These potentials correspond to hole injection into an electronic state that is available in the absence of illumination. It is proposed that a pair of tryptophan residues located at the interface between P700 and the solution and known to support the hydrophobic recognition of the PSI redox partner plastocyanin, may have an additional role as hole exchange mediator in charge transport through PSI.

Molecular Platform for Fast Low-Voltage Nanoelectromechanical Switching.

The use of molecules as active components to build nanometer-scale devices inspires emerging device concepts that employ the intrinsic functionality of molecules to address longstanding challenges facing nanoelectronics. Using molecules as controllable-length nanosprings, here we report the design and operation of a nanoelectromechanical (NEM) switch which overcomes the typical challenges of high actuation voltages and slow switching speeds for previous NEM technologies. Our NEM switches are hierarchically assembled using a molecular spacer layer sandwiched between atomically smooth electrodes, which defines a nanometer-scale electrode gap and can be electrostatically compressed to repeatedly modulate the tunneling current. The molecular layer and the top electrode structure serve as two degrees of design freedom with which to independently tailor static and dynamic device characteristics, enabling simultaneous low turn-on voltages (sub-3 V) and short switching delays (2 ns). This molecular platform with inherent nanoscale modularity provides a versatile strategy for engineering diverse high-performance and energy-efficient electromechanical devices.

Electronic Parameters of Diode Based Organometallic Semiconductor Dyes Centered Ruthenium Complexes with Active COOH Terminals.

In this study, the ruthenium complexes, which is an organometallic N-3 and C-106 semiconductor material, was coated on indium tin oxide (ITO) by using the self-assembled technique and thus a diode containing an organometallic interface was produced. The effects of this interface on the electronic parameters of the diode were investigated. It is aimed to improve the heterogeneity problem of the inorganic/organic interface by chemically bonding these materials from COOH active parts to the ITO surface. In order to understand how the electronic parameters of the diode change with this modification, the Schottky diode electrical characterization approach has been used. The charge mobility of the diode was calculated using the current density-voltage curve (J-V) characteristic with Space Charge Limited Current (SCLC) technique. When the electrical field is applied to the diode, it can be said that the ruthenium complexes molecules create an electrical dipole and the tunneling current is transferred to the anode contact ITO through the ruthenium molecule through the charge carrier, thus contributing to the hole injection. The morphology of these interface modifications was examined by Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) and surface potential energy by KelvinProbe Force Microscope (KPFM). To investigate local conductivity of bare ITO and modified ITO surface, Scanning Spreading Resistance Microscopy (SSRM) that is a conductive AFM analyzing technique were performed by applying voltage to the conductive tip and to the sample. According to the results of this work the diode containing N-3 material shows the best performance in terms of charge injection to the ITO due to possess the lowest barrier height Φb as 0.43 eV.

The influence of the magnetic configuration on the charge current generated by the temperature gradient in the double planar ferromagnetic tunnel junctions

The charge current generated by the temperature gradient applied to the double planar tunnel junctions with ferromagnetic external electrodes and central layer is investigated in the free-electron model. The situation when the bias voltage is applied to the junction is also considered. It has been shown that the analyzed current may depend on the orientation of magnetic moments in the ferromagnetic external electrodes and the central layer. The influence of the magnetic configuration on the tunnel current can be enhanced due to the resonant tunneling by the resonant states. Especially strong modifications of the current flowing through the junction can be observed as a result of changing the orientation of the magnetic moments in the central layer in junctions where the tunneling by the resonant states located below the bottom for the spin-down electrons in the source electrode is observed. The studied effects are strongly depended on the thickness of the central layer, spin splitting of the electron bands in the external electrodes and in the central layer, and the bias voltage applied to the junctions, but are also sensitive to the average temperature of the junction and the height and width of the barriers, whereas they are less sensitive to the temperature difference between the electrodes.

A Modelling of Tunnelling Current through a Trapezoidal Potential Barrier by Using Exponential Wavefunction Approach

A tunnelling current through a trapezoidal barrier potential has been modelled. The transmittance is determined using the exponential wavefunction approach method. Furthermore, the transmittance is used to calculate the tunnelling current density by applying the Gauss-Laguerre quadrature method. The simulation results show the increasing bias voltage causes the raising tunnelling current, and an increase of temperature is proportional to the tunnelling current.

A Modelling of Tunnelling Current through a Trapezoidal Potential Barrier by Using Exponential Wavefunction Approach

A tunnelling current through a trapezoidal barrier potential has been modelled. The transmittance is determined using the exponential wavefunction approach method. Furthermore, the transmittance is used to calculate the tunnelling current density by applying the Gauss-Laguerre quadrature method. The simulation results show the increasing bias voltage causes the raising tunnelling current, and an increase of temperature is proportional to the tunnelling current.

Coherent Spin Control of Single Molecules on a Surface.

Control of single electron spins constitutes one of the most promising platforms for spintronics, quantum sensing, and quantum information processing. Utilizing single molecular magnets as their hosts establishes an interesting framework since their molecular structure is highly flexible and chemistry-based large-scale synthesis directly provides a way toward scalability. Here, we demonstrate coherent spin manipulation of single molecules on a surface, which we control individually using a scanning tunneling microscope in combination with electron spin resonance. We previously found that iron phthalocyanine (FePc) molecules form a spin-1/2 system when placed on an insulating thin film of magnesium oxide (MgO). Performing Rabi oscillation and Hahn echo measurements, we show that the FePc spin can be coherently manipulated with a phase coherence time T2Echo of several hundreds of nanoseconds. Tunneling current-dependent measurements demonstrate that interaction with the tunneling electrons is the dominating source of decoherence. In addition, we perform Hahn echo measurements on small self-assembled arrays of FePc molecules. We show that, despite additional intermolecular magnetic coupling, spin resonance and T2Echo are much less perturbed by T1 spin flip events of neighboring spins than by the tunneling current. This will potentially allow for individual addressable molecular spins in self-assemblies and with application for quantum information processing.

Spontaneous symmetry breaking induced thermospin effect in superconducting tunnel junctions

We discuss the charge and the spin tunneling currents between two Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superconductors, where one density of states is spin-split. In the presence of a large temperature bias across the junction, we predict the generation of a spin-polarized thermoelectric current. This thermo-spin effect is the result of a spontaneous particle-hole symmetry breaking in the absence of a polarizing tunnel barrier. The two spin components, which move in opposite directions, generate a spin current larger than the purely polarized case when the thermo-active component dominates over the dissipative one.

Plasmonic gap resonances of electrically excited MIS-AgNR hybrid system

In this paper, a kind of light-emitting tunnel junction composed of three layers of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS, Au-Al2O3-Si) is introduced and this structure mainly relies on electron tunneling to excite SPPs. The finite element method is used to calculate the electric field distribution and extinction spectrum of the silver nanorod (AgNR) placed on the metal–insulator–semiconductor tunnel junction (MIS-AgNR). In the simulation, the influence of tunneling current on the strength of SPPs propagating along the metal surface is quantitatively studied by changing the thickness of the insulator layer of the MIS tunnel junction and the bias voltage across it. The AgNR is placed on the tunnel junction, and the gap distance between the gold surface of the MIS structure and the AgNR is changed to qualitatively study the relationship between the extinction characteristics of the AgNR and the gap distance. The study found that the amount of the tunneling current is proportional to the intensity of the SPPs on the metal surface. In the range of 4 nm–20 nm gap distance, the adjustment of the resonance peak position in the 500 nm–700 nm range of the extinction spectrum is realized. As the gap distance increases, the position of the resonant peak in the AgNR extinction spectrum will undergo blue-shift, and at the same time the intensity of the extinction peak will decrease. It is worth noting that the change of the blue-shift displacement is exponentially related to the change of the gap distance.

Spectral, NBO, NLO, NCI, aromaticity and charge transfer analyses of anthracene-9,10-dicarboxaldehyde by DFT

Anthracene-9,10-dicarboxaldehyde (ADCA) is a polynuclear aromatic compound that has a planar structure with double bonds which are in conjugation. The molecule is subjected to theoretical investigation with DFT/B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p) basis set to find out the electronic structural properties and stability. Theoretical and experimental vibrational analyses are carried out. NBO studies predict that the molecule has high stability. NCI interaction studies reveal that Van der Waals force and steric effect are seen in the molecule. A shaded surface map with a projection of LOL analysis pointed out that electron depletion area is seen in this molecule. The tunnelling current is more in the boundary rings than the central ring. It is docked with the protein 4COF and the binding energy is found to be -6.6 kcal/mol. Electrons excitation analysis is performed and found that local excitation takes place for the lowest five excitations. The aromaticity of the molecule is also thoroughly investigated.

Ultrafast Photon-Induced Tunneling Microscopy.

Unification of the techniques of ultrafast science and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has the potential of tracking electronic motion in molecules simultaneously in real space and real time. Laser pulses can couple to an STM junction either in the weak-field or in the strong-field interaction regime. The strong-field regime entails significant modification (dressing) of the tunneling barrier of the STM junction, whereas the weak-field or the photon-driven regime entails perturbative interaction. Here, we describe how photons carried in an ultrashort pulse interact with an STM junction, defining the basic fundamental framework of ultrafast photon-induced tunneling microscopy. Selective dipole coupling of electronic states by photons is shown to be controllable by adjusting the DC bias at the STM junction. An ultrafast tunneling microscopy involving photons is established. Consolidation of the technique calls for innovative approaches to detect photon-induced tunneling currents at the STM junction. We introduce and characterize here three techniques involving dispersion, polarization, and frequency modulation of the laser pulses to lock-in detect the laser-induced tunneling current. We show that photon-induced tunneling currents can simultaneously achieve angstrom scale spatial resolution and sub-femtosecond temporal resolution. Ultrafast photon-induced tunneling microscopy will be able to directly probe electron dynamics in complex molecular systems, without the need of reconstruction techniques.

Modeling of the Gate Tunneling Current in MFIS NCFETs

In this article, we present a model for the gate tunneling current (GTC) in metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) negative capacitance FETs (NCFETs), which, to the best of our knowledge, is the first such report. The model is numerical in nature, and is developed using the Tsu–Esaki formulation, employing the Wentzel–Kramer–Brillouin (WKB) approximation, in order to estimate the transmission coefficients of the carriers through the barriers. The ferroelectric (FE) material considered is HfO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sub> , and is modeled using the Landau phase transition theory. Simulation results reveal a remarkable nonmonotonic dependence of the GTC on the FE layer thickness, an effect that we explain through the Landau model. Furthermore, it is shown how this GTC can be reduced by orders of magnitude without changing the overall dielectric capacitance—a feature that may prove to be beneficial in low-power circuit designs. Additionally, it is seen that the GTC is a weak function of the remanent polarization and coercive field of the FE. All the model predictions are validated through a comparison with the results obtained from Sentaurus 2-D TCAD simulations. The novel results presented in this work should serve as a guide for detailed experimental studies on the gate current characteristics of MFIS NCFETs.

Effects of 29Si and 1H on the near-zero field magnetoresistance response of Si/SiO2 interface states: Implications for oxide tunneling currents

We report on a study that offers fundamental physical insight into an important phenomenon in solid state device physics, tunneling in Si/SiO2. We observe near-zero field magnetoresistance via spin-dependent trap-assisted-tunneling in both unpassivated and passivated Si/SiO2 and 28Si/28SiO2 metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) capacitors. A previous report, which utilized electrically detected magnetic resonance and NZFMR on these devices, indicates a surprising conclusion: the observed trap-assisted tunneling spectra are dominated by silicon dangling bonds back bonded to silicon at the Si/SiO2 interface, Pb0 and Pb1 centers. In this study, the four sets of samples are virtually identical, apart from the presence or absence of either 1H and 29Si. We observed a substantial narrowing of the NZFMR response with the removal of 29Si nuclei and a substantial broadening with the addition of 1H. Since superhyperfine interactions between 29Si nuclei Pb at the Si/SiO2 interface are a full order of magnitude stronger than such interactions involving silicon dangling bonds defects (E′ centers) within the oxide, the NZFMR results strongly suggest a response dominated by Si/SiO2 interface trap defects. With the introduction of 1H magnetic nuclei to the interface after a forming gas anneal, linewidths and lines shapes of Si/SiO2 and 28Si/28SiO2 MIS capacitors were nearly identical. However, the amplitude of the NZFMR response is greatly reduced by the introduction of hydrogen by a fraction about equal to the reduction in the interface trap density. Our results further indicate that the rate limiting step in trap-assisted tunneling is the interface to oxide trapping event.

Temperature impact on device characteristics of charge plasma based tunnel FET with Si0.5Ge0.5 source

In this work, the impact of temperature is investigated on the electrical characteristics of charge plasma-based doping-less double gate tunnel FET (DL-DG-TFET) with a low bandgap source material i.e., Si0.5Ge0.5. The influence of temperature (from 250 K to 450 K) is analysed on several performance parameters of the device such as bandgap, threshold voltage, SS, switching current ratio, ID-VGS, ID-VDS, gate current. The small change in energy bandgap with temperature reflects that device is minimally dependent on temperature. Temperature impact is significant on the sub-threshold region of transfer characteristics due to SRH recombination and trap-assisted tunnelling current. Insignificant variation of gate current with temperature signifies the better reliability of the device. Further, temperature effect is observed on analog parameters such as cut-off frequency, gate capacitance, trans-conductance, output conductance, power delay product (PDP). The minimal variation of analog parameters with temperature assures application of device in high-temperatures.

Tunneling spectra of superconductor- Kitaev layer -metal junctions

In this letter we construct a superconductor-Kitaev quantum spin liquid (QSL)-metal/semimetal tunnelling junction. By the tunnelling current, conductance, and d2I/dV2, we investigate the spin dynamics of the Kitaev QSL. We show that the d2I/dV2 of the tunneling current has three characteristics: the spectral gap at 0.26K, the positions of peak and dip at ω≈0.5K and 2.26K, respectively, except for an energy shift of superconducting gap Δ=0.5K. These characteristics are the same as the spin correlations function of the Kitaev QSL. These results show that the tunnelling junction method could be a powerful tool in revealing the exotic spin excitation properties of the QSL materials.