Effect of atomic structure on the electrical response of aluminum oxide tunnel junctions
M. J. Cyster, J. S. Smith, J. A. Vaitkus, N. Vogt, S. P. Russo, J. H. Cole
Abstract
Many nanoelectronic devices including SQUIDs and superconducting quantum computers rely on thin dielectric barriers through which electrons tunnel. The reproducibility and drift of circuit parameters in these junctions are affected by their atomic structure. This paper studies three-dimensional atomistic models of aluminium oxide tunnel junctions and simulate their electronic transport properties. The authors find that local variations in density or stoichiometry can lead to localized conduction channels which persist at the atomic scale even when a junction has a completely uniform thickness.
Topics & Concepts
Materials scienceCondensed matter physicsAtomic unitsAluminiumThermal conductionTunnel junctionAluminum oxideOxideStoichiometryElectronDielectricSuperconductivityTunnel effectOptoelectronicsElectrical resistivity and conductivityAtomic layer depositionThin filmQuantum tunnellingElectronic structureAluminium oxideReproducibilityConductive atomic force microscopyQuantumConduction electronDensity functional theoryAluminium oxidesDielectric strengthSemiconductor materials and devicesQuantum and electron transport phenomenaElectronic and Structural Properties of Oxides