Space-charge-limited conduction in neodymium oxide thin-films

The electrical charge transport in amorphous Nd2O3 thin films obtained by electron beam evaporation was investigated. The current-voltage characteristics show that after an initial ohmic regime, in which the current conduction is due to hopping of the carriers between localized sites, a space-charge-limited current sets in, which is characterized by distributed trap levels. The energy distribution of these traps in the band gap can be described by an exponential increase in density towards the conduction band of the insulator. (Auth.)