Work

Large potential steps at weakly interacting metal-insulator interfaces

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: Potential steps exceeding 1 eV are regularly formed at metal|insulator interfaces, even when the interaction between the materials at the interface is weak physisorption. From first-principles calculations on metal|$h\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{BN}$ interfaces we show that these potential steps are only indirectly sensitive to the interface bonding through the dependence of the binding energy curves on the van der Waals interaction. Exchange repulsion forms the main contribution to the interface potential step in the weakly interacting regime, which we show with a simple model based upon a symmetrized product of metal and $h\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{BN}$ wave functions. In the strongly interacting regime, the interface potential step is reduced by chemical bonding.

Source: Physical Review B

DOI: 10.1103/physrevb.90.201411

Authors: Menno Bokdam, Geert Brocks, Paul J. Kelly

Institution: University of Twente

Language: English

Topic: Surface and Thin Film Phenomena

Subfield: Atomic and Molecular Physics, and Optics

Field: Physics and Astronomy

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, FP7 Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and new Production Technologies

Award: G6152501169