TUNNELING CURRENT CHARACTERISTICS OF PLASMA OXIDIZED ULTRATHIN SIO2

Thin SiO2 films, which have been fabricated by ultra vacuum plasma oxi dation, have been characterised by method based on simple I/V-measurem ent. Tunnelling current through thin SiO2 film is observed to have a s mall oscillatory component with high electric field. This current osci llation is due to resonance between injected electron waves in the SiO 2 conduction band and waves reflected at the SiO2/Si interface. The ph ase and the amplitude of the oscillation depends on the oxide film thi ckness [1]. Oxide thickness and electron effective mass in the SiO2 co nduction band can be evaluated by fitting theoretical formula for Fowl er-Nordheim tunnelling current density to measured data.