Mechanism of detection of radiation in a high-speed metal-metal oxide-metal junction in the visible region and at longer wavelengths

Abstract
The mechanism of detection of radiation by a small‐area thin‐film metal‐metal oxide‐metal (MOM) structure is studied. It is shown that after subtracting thermal effects the response at optical frequencies arises from photoemission over the oxide’s potential barrier. At lower frequencies the mechanism arises from a rectification process dictated by the nonlinear IV characteristics due to electron tunneling across the junction.
Keywords