Barrier Energies in MIM Structures from Photoresponse: Effect of Scattering in the Insulating Film

Scattering of electrons photoexcited into the insulator conduction band prevents photoresponse from following the Fowler relation in MIM structures. However, barrier energies can be obtained without specific knowledge of the scattering process either by measuring the threshold for photoresponse directly, or by applying sufficiently large voltages across the insulator.