See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/257950516

Coexistence of tunneling and displacement currents in a nanogap driven with

ac fields

Article  in  Applied Physics Letters · April 2012

DOI: 10.1063/1.3702454

CITATIONS READS

4 50

4 authors, including:

Sudeep Bhattacharjee Manoj Harbola

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
126 PUBLICATIONS   1,161 CITATIONS    134 PUBLICATIONS   1,909 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

ECR plasma source View project

Atmospheric pressure plasma jets View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Sudeep Bhattacharjee on 29 April 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Coexistence of tunneling and displacement
currents in a nanogap driven with ac fields
Cite as: Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 153104 (2012); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3702454
Submitted: 03 October 2011 . Accepted: 20 March 2012 . Published Online: 10 April 2012

Sudeep Bhattacharjee, Manoj K. Harbola, Avradip Pradhan, and Atanu Modak

ARTICLES YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN

Momentum transfer using variable gaseous plasma ion beams and creation of high aspect
ratio microstructures
Journal of Applied Physics 121, 123302 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4979025

Experimental investigation of transition from Fowler–Nordheim field emission to space-

charge-limited flows in a nanogap
Applied Physics Letters 95, 061501 (2009); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3194297

Stopping potential and ion beamlet control for micro-resistive patterning through sub-Debye
length plasma apertures
AIP Advances 4, 127127 (2014); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4904371

Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 153104 (2012); https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3702454 100, 153104

© 2012 American Institute of Physics.

 APPLIED PHYSICS LETTERS 100, 153104 (2012)

Coexistence of tunneling and displacement currents in a nanogap driven

with ac fields
Sudeep Bhattacharjee, Manoj K. Harbola, Avradip Pradhan, and Atanu Modak
Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur—208016, India

(Received 3 October 2011; accepted 20 March 2012; published online 10 April 2012)
Current across two metallic electrodes with a nanogap separation (50 nm) is investigated for an
ac voltage applied between them. The current shows a distinct transition from the injection current
regime due to quantum tunneling at low frequencies to a regime dominated by classical
displacement current at high frequencies. The transition takes place at a critical frequency that
increases with the applied voltage. A theoretical model treating the electrodes as a parallel RC
circuit is developed; the model explains the experimental results reasonably accurately. V C 2012

American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.3702454]

In this letter, we report a study of the response
of a nanogap electrode system to an ac voltage VðtÞ
¼ Vmax sinð2pftÞ of peak voltage Vmax and frequency f
applied across the electrodes. In particular, the behavior of
the current through the gap as a function of both Vmax and
f is investigated and presented.
Emission of electrons from a metal-vacuum interface
due to an external electric field was studied by Fowler and
Nordheim (FN),1,2 treating it as a quantum mechanical tun-
neling process. The field emission current IFN is given by the
formula3
2 2 2 3=2
IFN ¼ ðaab V =D /w Þexp½ðb/W DÞ=bV; (1)
where a and bð¼ En =Eo Þ are the effective emitting area (in m2)
and field enhancement factor,4–6 respectively, a ( 1.541434
 106 A eV V2) and b ( 6.830890  109 eV3/2V m1) are
universal constants, Eo and En are the applied and local normal
surface electric field,6 respectively, /W is the work function of
the metal in eV, V is the applied voltage in Volts, and D is the
inter-electrode separation in meters. We note that a could be
much smaller3 than the geometric area A of the electrodes. In
experiments, using single carbon nanofiber, b was predicted to
be 5 for a 20 nm gap7 and was found to be 10 in another
planar nanogap experiment.5 Estimates of b for planar nano-
gaps may be made using the relation b ¼ b1 ½D=ðD þ hÞ with
b1 ¼ 1:2ðh=r þ 2:15Þ0:9 (Refs. 7 and 8) for carbon nanofibers
of height h and radius r. For planar electrodes with D  h and
h  r, b is close to 3.78. From current experiments, b is seen to
lie in the range of 10–20.
On sufficient development of the charge in front of the
electrode, the Child-Langmuir law (CL)9,10 gives space-
charge-limited (SCL) current
ICL ¼ Að4eo =9Þð2e=mÞ1=2 ðV 3=2 =D2 Þ ¼ KV 3=2 ; (2)
where e0 is permittivity of free space and other constants
have their usual meaning. For two dimensional planar elec-
trodes, the one dimensional CL law gets modified as J(2)/
J(1) % 1 þ 0.3145D/W11 and has been investigated both
numerically12 and analytically,11 where J(2) and J(1) are
current densities for two dimensional and one dimensional
planar electrode systems, respectively. In our experimental
system of finite area electrodes (200 lm  300 nm), the W/D
criterion11,12 (W/D  1) is clearly satisfied and J(2)/J(1)  1
for gap separation D  50 nm and electron emission width of
200 lm. Hence, the one dimensional relation for SCL flow
can be expected to hold good. For completeness, we mention
that when D is reduced so that it becomes comparable to the
de-Broglie wavelength of the space charge electrons, the
classical law is modified to account for quantum effects.13–16
Ang et al.14 proposed the scaling relation as
JQSCL ¼ ðeo h2 V 1=2 Þ=ðe1=2 m3=2 D4 Þ; (3)
for the SCL current in the quantum regime. For an interelec-
trode gap of 50 nm, this regime has been observed in
experiments for voltages <5 V.6 However, as described
below, the same nanosystem driven by an ac field
(Vmax > 15 V) displays a different power law behavior of I
versus V curve.
In the present experiments, the electrodes are made of
aluminum and are roughly of the size 200 lm 300 nm with
the separation D  50 nm. To observe the evolution of cur-
rent with ac voltages of different frequencies in the range of
0.01-100 Hz, a Hameg function generator (HM8130) is
employed. When the frequency is small (f  0.1 Hz), the out-
put of the function generator is fed to a bipolar power supply
(KEPCO PS BOP 100-1M) to achieve a high peak value of
the ac signal and this amplified voltage is applied to one of
the electrodes while the other electrode is connected to a
Keithley Picoammeter (6485) for measurement of current. A
NATIONAL INSTRUMENTS LAB-VIEW software is used to acquire
the data from the picoammeter to a personal Computer via
general purpose interface bus (GPIB). To avoid damage, at
higher frequencies (f 1 Hz), the power supply is replaced
by an inverting operational amplifier made in the laboratory,
where a power opamp BB3583AM is employed. The opamp
is biased 6120 V by two APLAB regulated dc power sup-
plies (Model No. L1281). For further details, the reader is
referred to the literature.5,6
For the nanogap system under study, the dc I-V charac-
teristics are first validated with the results of our earlier
work.5,6 For dc voltages 15 V, the saturated current is

0003-6951/2012/100(15)/153104/4/$30.00 100, 153104-1 C 2012 American Institute of Physics

V
153104-2 Bhattacharjee et al.
proportional to V3/2and the system is well into the SCL re-
gime. The transition from the FN field emission to SCL re-
gime is a function of the applied bias and occurs in the
voltage range 5–15 Volts.6 The quantum regime was
observed at V < 5 V. No sharp demarcation was experimen-
tally observed between different regimes.6 In contrast to the
dc experiments where it is expected that a state of equilib-
rium is attained, results for a nanosystem driven by an ac
field are different (as described below) and raise the follow-
ing questions: (1) whether steady state is attained and (2)
whether the current becomes space-charge-limited as
observed in dc fields.
Figures 1(a) and 1(b) show the ac current through the
nanogap as a function of time for two different frequencies,
0.01 Hz and 10 Hz, respectively, of the applied voltage. In
Fig. 1(a), the purely sinusoidal voltage trace is also shown.
For 0.01 Hz, the current does not have a sinusoidal depend-
ence on time; nor does it obey Eq. (1) or (2) for all voltages.
An analysis of the current versus voltage characteristics
shows that for 0.01 Hz (Fig. 1(a)) and at lower voltages, the
emitted current follows the FN relation during the buildup
from 0 volts, and for higher voltages, the current varies like
Imaxsinn(xt) where the power n is different from 3/2; the lat-
FIG. 1. Current through the nanogap for an ac voltage (sinusoidal curve) of
frequency (a) 0.01 Hz and (b) 10 Hz, having peak value of 80 V and 90 V,
respectively. Inset in (a) shows the current (in units of 1010 A) during
t ¼ 40–60 s.
Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 153104 (2012)
ter would have been expected on the basis of the CL law.
Therefore, the question arises what other factors contribute
to making the power greater than 3/2 at higher voltages
when the nanogap is driven with ac fields; this requires fur-
ther experimental investigations. Same trend is repeated
whenever the current starts to build up starting from 0 Volts,
e.g., after half a cycle (i.e., after 50 s). On the other hand, for
10 Hz, the current becomes like displacement current except
for a little asymmetric behavior near the peak which is evi-
dent from Fig. 1(b). This asymmetry arises because now two
currents, the injection current varying as sinn(xt) and the dis-
placement current varying as cos(xt) are being added; note
that for n ¼ 1, the signal would be purely sinusoidal. We,
therefore, observe a transition from the injection current re-
gime to a capacitive current regime with increase in the fre-
quency of the applied voltage.
Next, the change of the current as a function of fre-
quency of the applied voltage is investigated. For this, two
sets of experiments were carried out on two different sam-
ples made of the same material and having approximately
the same cross sectional area. From both the samples, identi-
cal results and conclusions are obtained. For brevity, only
one set of experimental results are reported in Fig. 2. In this
figure, the peak current Imax is plotted against f (in the range
0.01–100 Hz) for different peak voltages Vmax of the signal.
The bias voltage is set to a value (in the range 20 V–90 V),
where space charge can be sufficiently formed.
It is evident from Fig. 2 that the current Io at low fre-
quencies does not follow the V3/2 behavior; this is easily seen
by taking the ratio of the currents at different voltages. Here,
Io is the maximum value Imax of the current at low frequen-
cies (0.01 Hz). In fact, we have found by fitting the I versus
V curve at various frequencies that the dependence of Imax on
Vmax has a power larger than 3/2. This implies that for nano-
systems, an applied ac voltage not only affects the injection
into and the movement of electrons in the nanogap but may
also affect the charge buildup between the electrodes; the lat-
ter may arise either due to change in geometric factors such
as the emitting area, or charge accumulation due to memory
effects. This however has to be further investigated.
FIG. 2. Peak current Imax corresponding to the peak value of the applied ac
voltage plotted against the frequency.
153104-3 Bhattacharjee et al. Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 153104 (2012)

Figure 2 also indicates that for a fixed Vmax, the current

Imax corresponding to the peak voltage is roughly a constant at
low frequencies. Further, after a certain frequency fc, it
behaves like that of a normal capacitor, i.e., it increases line-
arly with f. Moreover, fc shifts towards larger values as Vmax is
increased. Thus, for frequencies up to fc, the current response
with respect to the applied voltage is governed by charge
transfer between the electrodes. Beyond fc, the current
becomes capacitive and appears as a displacement current.
The linear behavior of the current with respect to the
frequency gives an experimental method for determining the
capacitance of a nanogap by the formula C ¼ ðImax =2pfV max Þ.
From the data of Fig. 2, we estimate the capacitance to
be 1.9 pF.
To explain the experimental results obtained above, i.e.,
the variation of Imax with f as shown in Fig. 2, the following FIG. 3. Theoretical fit of the experimental data of Fig. 2 at three different
voltages of 20 V (lowermost set), 50 V, and 90 V (uppermost set) using
theoretical model is proposed. We first note that for an ac Eq. (5).
source connected to a capacitor, there will be two processes
that would contribute to the current drawn from the source. To check its applicability, the expression
One component of the current would be due to the charge qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
transfer between the plates and arises due to field emission. Imax ¼ Io 1 þ ðf =fc Þ2 has been fitted to the experimental
Another contribution would come from the displacement cur- data of Imax versus f taking Io and fc as the fitting parame-
rent due to the time-dependent field applied to the capacitor. If ters. The fitted graphs are shown for three voltages viz.
the applied voltage is V0 sinðxtÞ, where x ¼ 2pf, the displace- 20 V, 50 V, and 90 V in Fig. 3. It is seen that the fit is quite
ment current is given by: IðtÞ ¼ xCV 0 cosðxtÞ. In a capacitor good. The values of Io and fc obtained from the fit are pro-
connected to an ac source, the net current, therefore, is a sum vided in Table I for all the voltages used in the experi-
of these two currents—the field emission current and the dis- ments. Frequencies fc obtained from the fit agree with the
placement current. However, as discussed above, Imax (Fig. 2) observed experimental trend in that fc increases with
does not obey the CL relationship given by Eq. (2), nor can it increasing Vmax. The last column of Table I shows the ca-
be described purely by the FN relationship given by Eq. (1) pacitance of the nanogap calculated using the expression
(see discussion related to Fig. 1(a)). Therefore, its form as a C ¼ 2pVI00 fc from the values of Io and fc given in the Table.
function of the applied voltage is not known exactly. The correctness of the explanation given above is seen
Based on the discussion above, we model the nanogap from the fact that the value (1.98–2.05 pF) of capaci-
as a parallel RC circuit connected to an ac source. The resist- tance thus calculated matches well with that obtained ear-
ance R of the circuit is given by the ratio VI00 of the voltage Vo lier (1.9 pF) from the slope of the I versus f curve (Fig.
and the current Io when the capacitor is connected to a low 2). It is further noted that Io given in Table I also does not
frequency source (0.01 Hz) of voltage Vo. For a voltage vary with V as V3/2 and as such cannot be taken as the
V(t) ¼ Vosin(xt), the net current I(t) across the nanogap is value of the current obtained when the system is connected
then given by the formula to a dc source.
V0 A question that may arise is why such a behavior of cur-
IðtÞ ¼ sinðxtÞ þ xCV 0 cosðxtÞ; (4) rent with respect to the applied frequency is not observed in
R
capacitors of normal size. A qualitative answer is provided as
which can be written as follows. Let us consider a conventional capacitor with area
A ¼ 1 cm2, separation D  1 lm, and work function 5 eV,
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
connected to a voltage source of 100 V. The classical capaci-
IðtÞ ¼ Io 1 þ ðf =fc Þ2 sinðxt þ uÞ; (5) tance of this capacitor is given by C ¼ eo A=D  109 F.
For this value of capacitance, Eq. (1) gives Io/Vo
where tanðuÞ ¼ RxC and fc ¼ 2pRC 1
¼ 2pVI00 C. We note that a
similar model has been employed by Colombant and Lau17
TABLE I. Current Io and critical frequency fc as determined by fitting the
to investigate the increase of gap capacitance due to the data of Fig. 2 for different peak voltages Vmax with the expression of Eq. (5).
intense space charge of a high current beam.
The equation above predicts an interesting behavior of Peak voltage Critical Capacitance
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Vmax (V) Io (nA) frequency fc (Hz) C (pF)
Imax ¼ Io 1 þ ðf =fc Þ2 with respect to the frequency of the
applied voltage. In Eq. (5), if f
fc , we expect the current 20 0.15 0.58 2.05
30 0.27 0.73 1.96
amplitude to remain unchanged at Io with respect to the fre-
40 0.51 1.03 1.97
quency. On the other hand, if f  fc , the current should
50 0.93 1.50 1.97
increase linearly with the frequency of the applied voltage. 70 2.57 2.97 1.97
The transition between the two different dependence will 90 5.32 4.74 1.98
take place when f  fc, the critical frequency.
153104-4 Bhattacharjee et al.
4  1012 . Thus, the critical frequency fc is estimated to be
3
103 Hz. In such a capacitor, the current would, therefore, 4
be given only by the displacement current in the frequency 5
range employed in the current experiment.
6
To conclude, an interesting current versus frequency
behavior of current through a nanogap connected to an ac 7
source has been demonstrated. The current remains almost a
8
constant for small applied frequencies and after a critical fre-
quency, it changes to a purely displacement current, varying
9
linearly with the applied frequency. The critical frequency is 10
found to increase with the applied voltage. A satisfactory ex- 11
12
planation has been provided by modeling the nanogap as a
parallel RC circuit.
13
A.P. and A.M. thank Indranuj Dey and Samit Paul for
14
their assistance with the electronics and data acquisition and
Hemanadhan Myneni for his help with the figures. 15
1 16
R. H. Fowler and L. W. Nordheim, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 119, 173
(1928).
2 17
L. W. Nordheim, Proc. R. Soc. London, Ser. A 121, 626 (1928).
View publication stats
Appl. Phys. Lett. 100, 153104 (2012)
C. A. Spindt, I. Brodie, L. Humphrey, and E. R. Westerberg, J. Appl.
Phys. 47, 5248 (1976).
Y. Feng and J. P. Verboncoeur, Phys. Plasmas 12, 103301 (2005).
S. Bhattacharjee, A. Vartak, and V. Mukherjee, Appl. Phys. Lett. 92,
191503 (2008).
S. Bhattacharjee and T. Chowdhury, Appl. Phys. Lett. 95, 061501
(2009).
H. S. Sim, S. P. Lau, L. K. Ang, G. F. You, M. Tanemura, K. Yamaguchi,
M. Zamri, and Y. Yusop, Appl. Phys. Lett. 93, 023131 (2008).
K.-F. Hii, R. Ryan Vallance, S. B. Chikkamaranahalli, M. P. Menguc, and
A. M. Rao, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 24, 1081 (2006).
C. D. Child, Phys. Rev. 32, 492 (1911).
P. Langmuir, Phys. Rev. 2, 450 (1913).
Y. Y. Lau, Phys. Rev. Lett. 87, 278301 (2001).
J. W. Lugisland, Y. Y. Lau, and R. M. Gilgenbach, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77,
4668 (1996).
L. K. Ang, T. J. T. Kwan, and Y. Y. Lau, Phys. Rev. Lett. 91, 208303
(2003).
L. K. Ang, Y. Y. Lau, and T. J. T. Kwan, IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 32, 410
(2004).
L. K. Ang, W. S. Koh, Y. Y. Lau, and T. J. T. Kwan, Phys. Plasmas 13,
056701 (2006).
Y. Y. Lau, D. Chernin, D. G. Colombant, and P.-T. Ho, Phys. Rev. Lett.
66, 1446 (1991).
D. G. Colombant and Y. Y. Lau, Phys. Rev. Lett. 64, 2320 (1990).