Sandwiches of monolayers of Cd salts of fatty acids CH3(CH2)n−2COOH of different chain lengths between metal electrodes show the exponential decrease of conductivity vs thickness predicted by the tunnel theory. The electron work function from metal to dielectric is obtained. The current‐on‐voltage dependence is predicted and it is found to be in good agreement with experiment. The effects of changing the electrode material are quantitatively predicted from the differences between the vacuum work functions of the metals used (Hg, Al, Pb, and Au). The good agreement between theory and experiment can be taken as an extremely sensitive test for the uniformity of the monolayers obtained by the monolayer assembling technique used in this investigation.

Tunneling through Fatty Acid Salt Monolayers

On the history of photoemission

A crystal surface, considered to be nearly perfect, should fulfil the following requirements: little chemical contamination, few lattice imperfections, and smoothness. The methods of checking these requirements are reported. A survey is given of methods of preparing metal surfaces. The quality of the resultant surfaces is discussed. A new method of preparation is summarized which uses crystal growth by solidification of a drop of melt in high vacuum. These surfaces are untouched by any physical or chemical treatment. A report is given of investigations using these crystals for electron diffraction work, for the measurement of their optical constants and for corrosion experiments concerned with the epitaxy and structure of tarnish layers. The spherical shape of the crystals is advantageous.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0034-4885/26/1/302/pdf

L. Marton

Papers

Der lichtelektrische Effekt und seine Anwendungen