Electron Local-Mode Phonon Interaction in Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor Tunnel Junctions

Interactions between tunneling electrons and a variety of phonons have been previously reported in MIS tunnel junctions including zone boundary phonons, the k = 0 longitudinal optical phonon, and the B local-mode phonon. We report here the observation of interactions between the tunneling electron and the local-mode phonon associated with N in n-type SiC and P, O, and perhaps C and C–O in n-type Si. The data in SiC suggest that the interaction with the tunneling electrons arise from N substituted for Si atoms. The identification of the local modes in Si is based on agreement with infrared absorption measurements, by observation of at least two local-mode peaks for each impurity, and a correlation between the strength of the interaction and the concentration of P and O impurities present in various crystals.