Local electronic states in carbon diamond-like films

The volt-ampere dependences obtained by scanning the surface of carbon diamond-like thin films in the tunnel current mode are analyzed. Volt-ampere dependences are characterized by pronounced nonlinearity, consisting in the presence of a “zero” current section on them. In addition, hysteresis can be noted when changing the direction of voltage change and strong current fluctuations at the ends of the volt-ampere dependencies, significantly exceeding the noise level. Spectral analysis of the fluctuation component of the volt-ampere dependences indicates the frequency of occurrence of current fluctuations. The frequency range ranges from 0.04 to 0.8 V. In the range of dispersion of the maximum of the spectral density distribution, there are several low-amplitude maxima, which may be due to the presence of low-energy states in the energy spectrum of electrons.