Study of Light Emitting Tunnel Junctions

摘要

This study will identify the emission mechanism in light emitting tunnel junctions by comparing experimental results with models of the mechanism. Work has concentrated on Au-oxide-Al junctions almost exclusively because of their durability and the richness of their spectra. The emission spectrum has been measured as a function of bias voltage for about one hundred junctions. It was necessary to determine if any of the three surface-plasmon-polariton (SPP) modes a junction support is primarily responsible for the emitted light. Our experiments show that the dominant mode is the slow mode that has maximum field strength in the barrier. The Au fast mode and the Al fast mode, with maximum field strengths at the Au-air interface and Al-substrate interface are only only marginally involved. These conclusions are independent of any attempt to calculate the emission. Work is being completed on an attempt to calculate the emission spectrum in a way that identified the processes that dominate the emission. Although this is not yet finished, results to date support the conclusion that the slow mode is mainly responsible. Keywords: Light emitting tunnel junctions; Emission mechanisms; Tunnel junctions. (jhd)