Bistability in a H-terminated Si(1 0 0)2 × 1 surface obtained by ab initio transport calculations

We have analyzed electron tunneling due to the electric field from a hydrogen-terminated Si(1 0 0)2 × 1 ultrathin film on a metal substrate by density functional transport calculations. We have obtained a hysteresis loop in the tunneling current, which comes from the existence of two electronic structures. Furthermore, we have clarified that, as a condition of bistable electron transport, a double-barrier potential structure is not necessarily required for zero field, because it can be induced by the electric field.