Field emission from silicon covered with a thin oxide layer

Field emission from silicon covered with a thin oxide layer is modelled and calculated analytically. The additional barrier due to the oxide layer which is characterized by a conduction band effective potential and effective mass, and the quantum well near the surface of silicon are taken into account during field emission. Field emission currents are estimated using the WKB approximation. The results presented here suggest a reduction of the emission current from an emitter covered with an oxide layer. For the oxide layer below about 1 nm, the standard Fowler-Nordheim plot of field emission is shown to be linear; for the oxide layer over 1 nm, the standard Fowler-Nordheim plot deviates from linearity and local weak oscillation occurs.