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Inelastic electron tunneling spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy investigation of ultrathin sputtered amorphous silica films on gold

Authors :
B. DeVier
Robert Mallik
W. J. Kulnis
T. Butler
Source :
Journal of Applied Physics. 73:2347-2352
Publication Year :
1993
Publisher :
AIP Publishing, 1993.

Abstract

Ultrathin amorphous SiO2 films are radio frequency sputter deposited onto thin film gold electrodes and incorporated as the insulating barrier in metal/insulator/metal tunnel junctions of the type Au/SiO2/Pb. Inelastic electron tunneling spectra (IETS) recorded at 4.2 K reveal characteristic zero bias anomalies associated with rapid variations in the Pb density of states on either side of the superconducting gap which shows unequivocally that tunneling is the primary conduction mechanism through the junctions at this temperature. Full IET spectra reported are essentially identical to those previously recorded for similar SiO2 films on aluminum. Atomic force and scanning tunneling microscope images of the SiO2 and underlying gold films are also presented; these data confirm that the SiO2 films are sufficiently uniform and continuous for IETS.

Details

ISSN :
10897550 and 00218979
Volume :
73
Database :
OpenAIRE
Journal :
Journal of Applied Physics
Accession number :
edsair.doi...........42237f1aa1e88a32ec9d428f86f92e3f
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.353112