Jc. Alvarez et al., ELECTRICAL-PROPERTIES OF AU CAF2/N-SI[111] STRUCTURES GROWN BY MOLECULAR-BEAM EPITAXY WITH ULTRATHIN (LESS-THAN 20NM) CAF2 LAYERS/, Semiconductors, 30(7), 1996, pp. 698-701
Au/CaF2/n-Si(111) structures with CaF2 film thickness d from 1.9 to 20
.9 nm are obtained by molecular-beam epitaxy. The dielectric strength
of the fluoride layers that were grown is (4-5)X10(6) V/cm for d<6 nm
and of the order of 1.5X10(6) V/cm for 10 nm <d<20 nm. The decrease in
strength with increasing thickness is attributed to the partial ''rel
axation'' of the CaF2 layer. The current-voltage characteristics of th
e Au/CaF2/n-Si[111] structures are presented. It is shown that the cur
rent in these structures consists only of an electronic component. The
absence of photosensitivity in the experimental structures for low ph
oton energy (less than 3 eV) is explained. (C) 1996 American Institute
of Physics.