TY - JOUR
T1 - Negative differential resistance in MIM devices from vacuum to atmospheric pressure
AU - Hooper, Peter
AU - McHale, Glen
AU - Newton, Michael
PY - 1996
Y1 - 1996
N2 - When a thin gold film is electroformed in an oil-diffusion-pumped vacuum, the device subsequently displays a voltage-controlled negative differential resistance (NDR) with electroluminescence (EL) and electron emission (EE). In this work we present experimental data that show a device continuing to exhibit NDR when taken from the vacuum to atmospheric pressure in either argon or nitrogen gas. NDR is observed over many voltage cycles with an accompanying EL, which is in contrast to the suppression of NDR which occurs on the first cycle for a device in air at atmospheric pressure; NDR can then only be re-established by returning the device to vacuum. Therefore, as NDR can be achieved at atmospheric pressure in argon or nitrogen gas, this indicates that it is the presence of oxygen that inhibits the NDR conduction mechanism when a voltage is applied at atmospheric pressure.
AB - When a thin gold film is electroformed in an oil-diffusion-pumped vacuum, the device subsequently displays a voltage-controlled negative differential resistance (NDR) with electroluminescence (EL) and electron emission (EE). In this work we present experimental data that show a device continuing to exhibit NDR when taken from the vacuum to atmospheric pressure in either argon or nitrogen gas. NDR is observed over many voltage cycles with an accompanying EL, which is in contrast to the suppression of NDR which occurs on the first cycle for a device in air at atmospheric pressure; NDR can then only be re-established by returning the device to vacuum. Therefore, as NDR can be achieved at atmospheric pressure in argon or nitrogen gas, this indicates that it is the presence of oxygen that inhibits the NDR conduction mechanism when a voltage is applied at atmospheric pressure.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0030264345&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/002072196136607
DO - 10.1080/002072196136607
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0030264345
SN - 0020-7217
VL - 81
SP - 435
EP - 439
JO - International Journal of Electronics
JF - International Journal of Electronics
IS - 4
ER -