Eur. Phys. J. B 22, 415-420 (2001)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s100510170091

Tunnelling process between a semiconductor or a metal and a polymer

Laboratoire de Spectrométrie Physique, Université Joseph Fourier Grenoble 1 (CNRS UMR C5588) , 140 rue de la physique, BP 87, 38042 Saint-Martin d'Hères Cedex, France

Corresponding author: ^a ouisse@enserg.fr

Received: 6 April 2001
Revised: 29 May 2001
Published online: 15 August 2001

Abstract

The tunnelling lifetime of an electron lying in a p-type orbital localised at a given distance from a semiconductor or a metal is calculated by using Bardeen's method. It is then shown that even in the absence of broad bands, the hole injection process from semiconductors and metals into polymers should follow a Fowler-Nordheim dependence, provided that the current is not bulk-limited. In the semiconductor case, the current can be expressed by a fully analytical formula, and by an approximate one in the case of a metal. It is demonstrated that the effective Fowler-Nordheim barrier is not the mere difference between the metal work function or the semiconductor electron affinity and the HOMO level of the polymer, but a simple function of both levels.