Conduction and rectification in NbO{sub x}- and NiO-based metal-insulator-metal diodes
- US Army Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC), 15 General Greene Ave., Natick, Massachusetts 01760 (United States)
- Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Colorado School of Mines, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)
- RF and Electronics Division, US Army Research Laboratory, Adelphi, Maryland 20783 (United States)
- Division of Engineering, Brown University, Box D, Providence, Rhode Island 02912 (United States)
- National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colorado 80401 (United States)
Conduction and rectification in nanoantenna-coupled NbO{sub x}- and NiO-based metal-insulator-metal (MIM) diodes (“nanorectennas”) are studied by comparing new theoretical predictions with the measured response of nanorectenna arrays. A new quantum mechanical model is reported and agrees with measurements of current–voltage (I–V) curves, over 10 orders of magnitude in current density, from [NbO{sub x}(native)-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5}]- and NiO-based samples with oxide thicknesses in the range of 5–36 nm. The model, which introduces new physics and features, including temperature, electron effective mass, and image potential effects using the pseudobarrier technique, improves upon widely used earlier models, calculates the MIM diode's I–V curve, and predicts quantitatively the rectification responsivity of high frequency voltages generated in a coupled nanoantenna array by visible/near-infrared light. The model applies both at the higher frequencies, when high-energy photons are incident, and at lower frequencies, when the formula for classical rectification, involving derivatives of the I–V curve, may be used. The rectified low-frequency direct current is well-predicted in this work's model, but not by fitting the experimentally measured I–V curve with a polynomial or by using the older Simmons model (as shown herein). By fitting the measured I–V curves with our model, the barrier heights in Nb-(NbO{sub x}(native)-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5})-Pt and Ni-NiO-Ti/Ag diodes are found to be 0.41/0.77 and 0.38/0.39 eV, respectively, similar to literature reports, but with effective mass much lower than the free space value. The NbO{sub x} (native)-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} dielectric properties improve, and the effective Pt-Nb{sub 2}O{sub 5} barrier height increases as the oxide thickness increases. An observation of direct current of ∼4 nA for normally incident, focused 514 nm continuous wave laser beams are reported, similar in magnitude to recent reports. This measured direct current is compared to the prediction for rectified direct current, given by the rectification responsivity, calculated from the I–V curve times input power.
- OSTI ID:
- 22592837
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, Vacuum, Surfaces and Films, Vol. 34, Issue 5; Other Information: (c) 2016 American Vacuum Society; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0734-2101
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
42 ENGINEERING
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CURRENT DENSITY
DIAGRAMS
DIELECTRIC MATERIALS
DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
DIRECT CURRENT
EFFECTIVE MASS
ELECTRIC POTENTIAL
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
IMAGES
METALS
NICKEL OXIDES
NIOBATES
NIOBIUM OXIDES
PHOTONS
POLYNOMIALS
QUANTUM MECHANICS
THICKNESS