METAL ONE-DIMENSIONAL PEIERLS SEMICONDUCTOR INTERFACE PHENOMENA

The spatial distribution of the electric field E between two current terminals along the quasi-one-dimensional TaS3 conductor has been studied using a multicontact configuration. In the low-temperature range (30 < T < 50 K) for a DC voltage V applied between current terminals less than the threshold value V(T), we have measured a strong increase of E near the negative terminal with respect to its value in the middle of the sample. In contrast, E is reduced near the positive terminal. The distribution of E revealed by these experiments is supposed to be related to the formation of two Schottky barriers on the metal-Peierls semiconductor contacts which are biased one in the reverse and the other in the forward direction. The region of increased E corresponds to the depletion layer near the negative terminal. When V is increased, both the size of this region L and the appropriate band bending in the Peierls semiconductor are enlarged. In die range V > V(T) the spatial distribution of E is governed by an additional voltage developed near both current terminals to maintain the conversion of the current of electrons in the sliding charge-density-wave condensate. In this case the electric field increases near both contacts and the spatial distribution of E becomes more symmetrical.