CONDUCTION PROCESSES IN VACUUM-DEPOSITED FILMS OF SILICON OXIDE

DC and AC conduction measurements were made on films of silicon oxide which had been fully annealed. Four activation energies were determined for the conduction processes. In the case of DC conduction a time-dependent absorption current was observed at low fields and this was related to a low-frequency dispersion. The steady-state current at low fields was ohmic. At high fields the conductivity was field-dependent and the usual Jα exp (βV1/2) relationship was observed. The low-frequency dispersion was found to affect the audio-frequency region at high temperatures. Above 10 kc/s the loss was independent of frequency up to 1 mc/s. © 1969 Chapman and Hall.