Modeling the post-breakdown I-V characteristics of ultrathin SiO2 films with multiple snapbacks

Multiple conduction states in ultra-thin SiO2 films after hard break-down could be observed when the oxides exhibited the behavior of multiple snapbacks. Although the I-V characteristics seem very complicated when the snapbacks occurred with multiple conduction states involved, a careful modeling indicates that each conduction state was well defined. The I-V characteristic of each conduction state can be well modeled by the power law, and a convincing linear dependence is observed for each state when the I-V characteristics are plotted in log-log scale. These findings consist with the percolation model.