Traps in Al2O3 detected by tunneling

A structure, quite different from inelastic tunneling peaks, has been observed in electron-tunneling spectra of MOM junctions. A capacitance peak is associated with this structure, which is attributed to traps in the oxide at energies smaller than those previously reported. The C-V characteristics calculated using a single-energy trap model agree with experimental results; however, no satisfactory explanation has yet been found to account for the strong temperature dependence of the trap energy levels.