Transition voltage spectroscopy: Artefacts of the Simmons approach Original Research Article

The initial interpretation of the transition voltage (Vt) spectroscopy within a tunneling barrier picture has been later challenged within calculations based on the Simmons model. In this communication, it will be shown that the predictions of the Simmons model for Vt represent artefacts of an inadequate WKB-type constant barrier approximation, which are exacerbated by those calculations by an incorrect expression of the image potential.