Effects of Antimony Deposition on Field-Emission Current Density of Ge/Si

Abstract

To estimate the field-emission current density of a Ge/Si heterosystem, 20-nm germanium/silicon (100) samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy. The surface of one sample was covered with a layer of antimony, which was removed in vacuum prior to the samples being measured. A second sample of Ge/Si was exposed to room air in the absence of antimony. The current–voltage characteristics of both samples obtained by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) were discovered to be in agreement with classical Fowler–Nordheim theory. The density of emission current from Ge nanocrystal exceeds the density of emission current from the wetting layer of Ge/Si. The density of emission current of pure Ge nanocrystal is less than the density of emission current of Ge nanocrystal with adsorption layers.