Issue |
Europhys. Lett.
Volume 62, Number 3, May 2003
|
|
---|---|---|
Page(s) | 398 - 404 | |
Section | Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1209/epl/i2003-00331-2 | |
Published online | 01 April 2003 |
Controlling a tunnel current from the exterior: A new mesoscopic quantum effect
Lehrstuhl für Oberflächenphysik (IPkM), Heinrich-Heine-Universität
Düsseldorf 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany
Corresponding author: otto@uni-duesseldorf.de
Received:
9
September
2002
Accepted:
19
February
2003
Surprising new effects are observed, when the thickness of the electrode of an -oxide/ junction is reduced to the order of the mean free path of the tunneling hot electrons in silver. In this case, strong increases (up to 500%) in the tunnel current at constant tunnel voltage are observed, if, for example, small quantities of silver are condensed on the electrode at cryogenic temperatures. An explanation of this effect in terms of a ballistic model fails. A model is proposed, in which the coherent tunneling state of the electrons is changed by diffusive scattering at the outer surface.
PACS: 73.40.Rw – Metal-insulator-metal structures / 73.40.Gk – Tunneling / 73.23.-b – Electronic transport in mesoscopic systems
© EDP Sciences, 2003
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