POSSIBLE QUANTUM EFFECTS IN AMORPHOUS-SILICON DOUBLE SCHOTTKY DIODES

Amorphous silicon double Schottky switching diodes in which one contact is vanadium, formed to produce switching, can show discrete steps in the I-V characteristics in the ON state. These steps frequently occur at resistances of h/2ne2 where n is an integer. The effect has been found quite strongly at room temperature, whereas in a previous report, only up to 190 K. Other conditions were also significantly different. A small-scale statistical analysis shows that the effect appears to be real. An expression for it is derived based on quantum confinement in small conducting inclusions.