Electrically Driven Plasmons in Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Tunnel Junctions: The Role of Silicon Amorphization.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 36856602.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1021/acs.nanolett.2c04863 and PMC identifier 10037326.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
We investigate electrically driven plasmon (EDP) emission in metal-insulator-semiconductor tunnel junctions. We find that amorphization of the silicon crystal at a narrow region near the junction due to the applied voltage plays a critical role in determining the nature of the emission. Furthermore, we suggest that the change in the properties of the insulating layer above a threshold voltage determines the EDP spatial properties, from being spatially uniform when the device is subjected to low voltages, to a spotty pattern peaking at high voltages. We emphasize the role of the high-energy emission as an unambiguous tool for distinguishing between EDP and radiative recombination of electrons and holes in the semiconductor.