Enhanced ionic conductivity at the interface between sapphire and solid lithium iodide

We have studied the enhanced ionic conductivity of thin films of LiI evaporated onto a planar sapphire surface carrying interdigital Au-electrodes. The interface conductivity parallel to the surface was measured in situ for increasing film thickness, up to 3,000 Å. The specific conductivity of LiI in the first 300 Å — adjacent to the sapphire — was found to exceed the bulk conductivity of LiI by nearly one order of magnitude. From our observations we conclude that the specific conductivity of LiI decreases exponentially with distance from the sapphire surface reaching the bulk LiI-value only at a distance of 3,000 Å. The conductivity of a 350 Å thick film varies with temperature (25°CT120°C) in accordance with an activation energy of 0.40±0.04 eV. This is in good agreement with the activation energy of bulk LiI in the extrinsic region.