Determination of the sign of carrier transported across SiO2 films on Si

Abstract

A technique has been developed for determination of the sign of charge carrier transported across an insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, utilizing the charge‐carrier separation properties of a shallow p‐n junction diffused into the semiconductor. For thermally grown SiO₂, unmetallized and contacted by a corona discharge in dry air, electrons are found to carry the current for both polarities of surface potential. Also demonstrated is electron‐hole pair production in the Si by electrons entering from the oxide.