Inelastic-Electron-Tunneling Spectroscopy of Metal-Insulator-Metal Junctions

The inelastic tunneling of electrons in a metal-insulator-metal junction has been shown to be a spectroscopic method for studying the vibrational modes of the whole system. In the present paper we consider the possibility of deducing precise information from this spectroscopy. The low-voltage part of the spectrum (i.e., the $\frac{{d}^{2}I}{d{V}^{2}}\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{v}\mathrm{s}\ensuremath{-}V$ characteristic) gives information about the phonons of the electrodes. The phonon density, which is deduced for a Mg electrode, is critically compared with the density deduced from neutron scattering. The range of this phonon probe is then studied by tunneling into multilayer electrodes. The 40-90-meV range of the characteristic of a Mg-Pb junction exhibits a specific structure due to the lattice vibrations of the insulator. This structure is compared with the infrared spectrum and the phonon density of states of MgO, as well as with a theoretical calculation of the tunneling current in the transfer-Hamiltonian formalism. From the fit obtained, it is deduced that the 30-\AA{}-thick insulator, grown on Mg, is an oxide, in contrast with the insulator grown on Al, which was previously deduced to be a hydroxide. At higher energies (100-500 meV), the vibrational spectrum of molecules contained in the insulator region is observed. The identification of the lines is shown to be accurate and it gives precise information on these molecules, especially about their chemical binding with the insulator. This last point could be important in the future for studying the problem of adsorption on solid surfaces.