Electrical transport properties of hot electrons at metal, insulator, and semiconductor interfaces

Abstract

The application of ballistic electron emission microscopy (BEEM) to study hot electron transport phenomena over a kinetic energy range of 0–8 eV is discussed. A basic discussion of hot electron scattering in metals, semiconductors, and insulators precedes the presentation of three case studies, representing examples of transport parameters extracted from BEEM experiments. They include the determination of the energy dependence of (a) the quasielastic and inelastic electron mean free paths in Pd films, (b) the quantum yield of electron–hole pair generation through impact ionization in Si, and (c) the transmission probability of electrons through thin SiO2 layers in metal–oxide–semiconductor structures.