Hundhausen M, Ley L (1993)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 1993
Publisher: American Physical Society
Book Volume: 47
Pages Range: 12687
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevB.47.12687
We have measured the temporal behavior of the perpendicular current through large-area (0.25 mm2) double-barrier structures fabricated from n+-type a-Si:H and quasistoichiometric a-SiNx:H. The current switches randomly between distinct values with an amplitude between 0.5% and 10% of the total current. This behavior is reminiscent of random telegraph noise (RTN) observed in small-area (<1 μm2) devices. The power spectra of the RTN can be fitted by a superposition of Lorentzians from which effective switching rates can be deduced. They are thermally activated and exhibit a dependence on the voltage applied to the sample. The RTN switching can be influenced optically by illuminating the sample surface with a He-Ne laser. While scanning the device area with the focused laser the RTN is influenced at one well-defined spot only. We associate this spot with a filament of less than 1 μm2 in size that carries a large fraction of the current through the device and argue that the current is controlled by the charging and discharging of a single defect in proximity to this filament via Coulomb blocking resulting in the observed RTN. In different samples distributions of switching times for capture and emission of electrons at a single defect are measured as a function of applied voltage and temperature. Based on these data different configurations of the defect located in the nitride barrier are discussed within a model of an acceptorlike trap with a strong electron-lattice coupling which exchanges charge with the adjacent n+-type a-Si:H layers. © 1993 The American Physical Society.
APA:
Hundhausen, M., & Ley, L. (1993). Analysis of Random telegraph noise in large-area amorphous double-barrier structures. Physical Review B, 47, 12687. https://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.47.12687
MLA:
Hundhausen, Martin, and Lothar Ley. "Analysis of Random telegraph noise in large-area amorphous double-barrier structures." Physical Review B 47 (1993): 12687.
BibTeX: Download