Electrical transport and photoemission experiments of alkylphosphonate monolayers on GaAs

Hagay Shpaisman, Eric Salomon, Guy Nesher, Ayelet Vilan, Hagai Cohen, Antoine Kahn, David Cahen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

25 Scopus citations

Abstract

We report on electronic transport measurements through dense monolayers of CH 3(CH 2) nPO 3H 2 molecules of varying chain lengths, with a strong and stable bond through the phosphonic acid end group to a <100> GaAs surface and a Hg top contact. The monolayers maintain their high quality during and after the electrical measurements. Analyses of the electronic transport measurements of junctions, and of UV and inverse photoemission spectroscopy data on band alignments of free surfaces, yield insight about the electrical transport mechanism. Transport characteristics for n-GaAs junctions at low forward bias are identical for different chain lengths, a strong indication of high-quality monolayers. Tunneling barrier and carrier effective mass values for n- and p-GaAs samples were deduced from the transport data. In this way we find a tunneling barrier for n-GaAs of 1.3 eV, while UPS data for the lowest unoccupied system orbital (LUSO) point to a 2.4 eV barrier. This discrepancy can be understood by invoking states, closer to the Fermi level than the LUSO state, that contribute to charge transport. Such states lead to a manifold of transitions, each having a different probability, both because of differences in the tunnel barrier and because of differences in density of these interface-induced states; i.e., the single barrier, deduced from J-V measurements, is an effective value only.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3313-3321
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Physical Chemistry C
Volume113
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 26 2009

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
  • General Energy
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Surfaces, Coatings and Films

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Electrical transport and photoemission experiments of alkylphosphonate monolayers on GaAs'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this