Current–voltage characteristics of silicon measured with the scanning tunneling microscope in air

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Abstract
A scanning tunneling microscope, operated in air, is utilized to measure the current–voltage (I–V) curves of silicon samples with differently prepared thin layers of oxide. We report measurements on as-prepared (mechanically and chemically polished by the manufacturer) wafers and on wafers with a thin layer of thermal oxide. The I–V measurements on the silicon sample with the thermal oxide were dominated by surface states. In contrast, band bending was observed on the ‘‘as-prepared’’ silicon samples. The difference between the results were related to the nature of the thin film of oxide on the surface. The forward bias I–V characteristics, for the as-prepared samples, are compared with the behavior predicted by the metal–insulator–semiconductor theory. In these measurements, larger than expected tip-to-sample spacings are observed. This is attributed to the presence of a layer of contamination between the tip and sample.

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