Electrical conduction and breakdown in amorphous tantalum and niobium oxide films

Abstract

The paper presents the results of investigating the electronic conduction and destruction of amorphous tantalum and niobium oxides (a-Ta/sub 2/O/sub 5/, a-Nb/sub 2/O/sub 5/) in thin anodic layers on metal surfaces in strong electric fields. It is shown that the breakdown of a highly homogeneous oxide dielectric is preceded by storage processes (dielectric aging).