It is well known that current can flow between two metal electrodes, separated by a thin oxide or insulator layer of the order of 50A thick, by means of the electric-tunnel effect. Estimates have been made that it requires 10-16sec for an electron to tunnel from one electrode to the other. Calculations by Simmons and others have shown that for low voltages dissimilar electrode junctions are to a first approximation ohmic. We show in this paper that to a second approximation an asymmetry square law dependence appears for an ideal trapezoidal barrier, Which can lead to detection. The I-V curves and responsivity (volts/watt) of the detector are calculated for typical parameters.
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Coleman et al. (1969) studied this question.