Internal Field Emission on Germanium Surface at a. c. Field Effect

A study is made of the shift in surface potential φso, known as the storage effect, observed during studies of the a.c. field effect on etched germanium exposed to the atmosphere. The effect is thought to be due to internal electron field emission from trap‐states in the surface oxide layer into the conduction band of germanium. The kinetics of the electron transition process into the oxide suggests the equivalency of the oxide trap‐states and the so called “slow states”. A qualitative model of these states is discussed.