DIFFUSIVE AND INELASTIC-SCATTERING IN BALLISTIC-ELECTRON-EMISSION SPECTROSCOPY AND BALLISTIC-ELECTRON-EMISSION MICROSCOPY

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) of Au/Si(001) n type was done to study whether elastic scattering in the Au overlayer is domin ant. It was found that there is no dependence of the BEEM current on t he relative gradient of the Au surface with respect to the Si interfac e, and this demonstrates that significant elastic scattering must occu r in the Au overlayer. Ballistic-electron-emission spectroscopy (BEES) was also done, and, rather than using the conventional direct-current BEES, alternating-current (ac) BEES was done on Au/Si and also on Au/ PtSi/Si(001) n type. The technique of ac BEES was found to give linear threshold for the Schottky barrier, and it also clearly showed the on set of electron-hole pair creation and other inelastic scattering even ts. The study of device quality PtSi in Au/PtSi/Si(001) yielded an att enuation length of 4 nm for electrons of energy 1 eV above the PtSi Fe rmi energy.