English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

We investigate how different interface geometries of an Al/Al$_2$O$_3$junction, a common component of modern tunnel devices, affect electrontransport through the tunnel barrier. We study six distinct Al/Al$_2$O$_3$interfaces which differ in stacking sequences of the metal and the oxidesurface atoms and the oxide termination. To construct model potential barrierprofiles for each examined geometry, we rely on first-principlesdensity-functional theory (DFT) calculations for the barrier heights and theshapes of the interface regions as well as on experimental data for the barrierwidths. We show that even tiny variations in the atomic arrangement at theinterface cause significant changes in the tunnel barrier parameters and,consequently, in electron transport properties. Especially, we obtain thatvariations in the crucial barrier heights and widths can be as large as 2 eVand 5 \AA, respectively. Finally, to gain information about the averageproperties of the measured junction, we fit the conductance calculated withinthe WKB approximation to the experimental data and interpret the fit parameterswith the help of the DFT results.

Effect of interface geometry on electron tunnelling in Al/Al$_2$O$_3$/Al junctions