On the barrier inhomogeneities of polyaniline/p-Si/Al structure at low temperature

The current–voltage (I–V) characteristics of Au/polyaniline(PANI)/p-Si/Al structures were determined at various temperatures in the range of 90–300 K. The evaluation of the experimental I–V data reveals a decrease of the zero-bias barrier height (BH) and an increase of the ideality factor (n) with decreasing temperature. It was shown that the occurrence of a Gaussian distribution of then BHs is responsible for the decrease of the apparent BH, increase of the ideality factor n due to barrier height imhomogeneities that prevail at the interface. A Φ_b0 versus 1/T plot has been drawn for evidence of the Gaussian distribution of the barrier height, and and σ₀ = 0.0943 V for the mean barrier height and zero-bias standard deviation, respectively, have been obtained from this plot. Thus, a modified versus 1/T plot gives and A^* as 0.885 eV and A^* = 55.80 A/K² cm², respectively. Hence, it can be concluded that Au/PANI/p-Si/Al structure has a good rectifying contact and the temperature dependence of I–V characteristics of the rectifying contact on p-Si successfully have been explained on the basis of TE mechanism with Gaussian distribution of the barrier heights.     

Breakdown characteristics of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on a silicon substrate

In this work, the breakdown characteristics of AlGaN/GaN planar Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） fabricated on the silicon substrate are investigated. The breakdown voltage （BV） of the SBDs first increases as a function of the anodeto-cathode distance and then tends to saturate at larger inter-electrode spacing. The saturation behavior of the BV is likely caused by the vertical breakdown through the intrinsic GaN buffer layer on silicon, which is supported by the post-breakdown primary leakage path analysis with the emission microscopy. Surface passivation and field plate termination are found effective to suppress the leakage current and enhance the BV of the SBDs. A high BV of 601 V is obtained with a low on-resistance of 3.15 mΩ·cm^2.     

Comparison of electrical characteristic between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on A1N/GaN and A1GaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated. Based on the measured current-voltage and capacitance-voltage curves, the electrical characteristics of AlN/GaN Schottky diode, such as Schottky barrier height, turn-on voltage, reverse breakdown voltage, ideal factor, and the current-transport mechanism, are analyzed and then compared with those of an A1GaN/GaN diode by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇s and Poisson＇s equations. It is found that the dislocation-governed tunneling is dominant for both AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes. However, more dislocation defects and a thinner barrier layer for AlN/GaN heterostrncture results in a larger tunneling probability, and causes a larger leakage current and lower reverse breakdown voltage, even though the Schottky barrier height of AlN/GaN Schottky diode is calculated to be higher that of an A1GaN/GaN diode.     

High-performance 4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky diodes with double resistive termination extensions

4H-SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes with a high-temperature annealed resistive termination extension (HARTE) are designed, fabricated and characterized in this work. The differential specific on-state resistance of the device is as low as 3.64 m ·cm2 with a total active area of 2.46×10-3 cm2 . Ti is the Schottky contact metal with a Schottky barrier height of 1.08 V and a low onset voltage of 0.7V. The ideality factor is calculated to be 1.06. Al implantation annealing is performed at 1250℃ in Ar, while good reverse characteristics are achieved. The maximum breakdown voltage is 1000 V with a leakage current of 9×10-5 A on chip level. These experimental results show good consistence with the simulation results and demonstrate that high-performance 4H-SiC JBS diodes can be obtained based on the double HARTE structure.     

A GaN-AIGaN-InGaN last quantum barrier in an InGaN/GaN multiple-quantum-well blue LED

The advantages of a GaN-AlGaN-InGaN last quantum barrier （LQB） in an InGaN-based blue light-emitting diode are analyzed via numerical simulation. We found an improved light output power, lower current leakage, higher recombi- nation rate, and less efficiency droop compared with conventional GaN LQBs. These improvements in the electrical and optical characteristics are attributed mainly to the specially designed GaN-AlGaN-InGaN LQB, which enhances electron confinement and improves hole injection efficiency.     

Efficiency enhancement of an InGaN light-emitting diode with a p-AIGaN/GaN superlattice last quantum barrier

In this study, the efficiency droop of an InGaN light-emitting diode （LED） is reduced slgnlncanUy oy using a p-AlGaN/GaN superlattice last quantum barrier. The reduction in efficiency droop is mainly caused by the decrease of electron current leakage and the increase of hole injection efficiency, which is revealed by investigating the light currents, internal quantum efficiencies, energy band diagrams, carrier concentrations, carrier current densities, and radiative recombination efficiencies of three LED structures with the advanced physical model of semiconductor device （APSYS）.     

Aspects of the dielectric upstream region barrier discharge in a plasma jet with configurations

A plasma column with a length of about 65 cm is generated in the upstream region of a plasma jet using dielectric barrier discharge configurations. The effects of experimental parameters such as the amplitude of the applied voltage and the driving frequency are investigated in aspects of the plasma column by the optical method. Results show that both the plasma length and the propagating velocity, as well as the discharge current, increase with the increase in the applied voltage or its frequency. The discharge mechanism is analysed qualitatively based on streamer theory, where photo-ionization is important. Furthermore, optical emission spectroscopy is used to investigate the electric field intensity of the upstream region.     

Analytical model including the fringing-induced barrier lowering effect for a dual-material surrounding-gate MOSFET with a high-k gate dielectric

By solving Poisson＇s equation in both semiconductor and gate insulator regions in the cylindrical coordinates, an analytical model for a dual-material surrounding-gate （DMSG） metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor （MOSFET） with a high-k gate dielectric has been developed. Using the derived model, the influences of fringing-induced barrier lowering （FIBL） on surface potential, subthreshold current, DIBL, and subthreshold swing are investigated. It is found that for the same equivalent oxide thickness, the gate insulator with high-k dielectric degrades the short-channel performance of the DMSG MOSFET. The accuracy of the analytical model is verified by the good agreement of its results with that obtained from the ISE three-dimensional numerical device simulator.     

Al/Ti/4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes with inhomogeneous barrier heights

This paper investigates the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Al/Ti/4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) in the temperature range of 77 K-500 K,which shows that Al/Ti/4H-SiC SBDs have good rectifying behaviour.An abnormal behaviour,in which the zero bias barrier height decreases while the ideality factor increases with decreasing temperature (T),has been successfully interpreted by using thermionic emission theory with Gaussian distribution of the barrier heights due to the inhomogeneous barrier height at the Al/Ti/4H-SiC interface.The effective Richardson constant A =154 A/cm 2 · K 2 is determined by means of a modified Richardson plot ln(I 0 /T 2)-(qσ) 2 /2(kT) 2 versus q/kT,which is very close to the theoretical value 146 A/cm 2 · K 2.     

The dependence of I–V and C–V characteristics on temperature in the H-terminated Pb/p-Si(1 0 0) Schottky barrier diodes

The current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics of H-terminated Pb/p-Si/Al contacts fabricated by us have been measured in the temperature range of 77–300 K. The experimental values of the barrier height (BH) Φ_bo and the ideality factor n for the device range from 0.674 and 1.072 eV (at 300 K) to 0.352 and 2.452 eV (at 77 K), respectively. The ideality factors become larger with lowering temperature while the barrier height decreases. The Φ_bo(n) plot shows a linear dependence in the temperature range of 77–300 K that can be explained by the barrier inhomogeneity at the metal/semiconductor interface. The extrapolation of the linear Φ_bo(n) plot to n = 1 has given a homogeneous barrier height of approximately 0.713 eV for the Pb/p-Si(1 0 0) contact. A Φ_bo versus 1/T plot was drawn to obtain evidence of a Gaussian distribution of the BHs, and values of and σ_s = 80.5 mV for the mean BH and zero-bias standard deviation have been obtained from this plot, respectively. Then, a modified versus 1/T plot gives and A^* as 0.828 eV and 54.89 A/cm² K², respectively. Furthermore, an average value of −0.687 meV/K for the temperature coefficient has been obtained, the value of −0.687 meV/K for hydrogen terminated p-type Si differs from those given for p-type Si without hydrogen termination in the literature.     

Electric field modulation technique for high-voltage AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes

A novel structure of AIGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diode （SBD） featuring electric field optimization techniques of anode-connected-field-plate （AFP） and magnesium-doped p-type buried layer under the two-dimensional electron gas （2DEG） channel is proposed. In comparison with conventional A1GaN/GaN SBDs, the magnesium-doped p-type buried layer in the proposed structure can provide holes that can help to deplete the surface 2DEG. As a result, surface field strength around the electrode edges is significantly suppressed and the electric field along the channel is distributed more evenly. Through 2D numerical analysis, the AFP parameters （field plate length, LAFP, and field plate height, TAFP） and p-type buried layer parameters （p-type layer concentration, Np, and p-type layer thickness, Tp） are optimized to achieve a three-equal-peak surface channel field distribution under exact charge balance conditions. A novel structure with a total drift region length of 10.5 μm and a magnesium-doped p-type concentration of 1 × 10^17 cm 3 achieves a high breakdown voltage （VB） of 1.8 kV, showing 5 times improvement compared with the conventional SBD with the same device dimension.     

Investigation of inhomogeneous barrier height of Au/Bi4Ti3O12/n-Si structure through Gaussian distribution of barrier height

Au/Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/n-Si structure is fabricated in order to investigate its current-voltage (I-V) characteristics in a temperature range of 300 K-400 K. Obtained I-V data are evaluated by thermionic emission (TE) theory. Zero-bias barrier height (Φ_B0) and ideality factor (n) calculated from I-V characteristics, are found to be temperature-dependent such that Φ_B0 increases with temperature increasing, whereas n decreases. Obtained temperature dependence of Φ_B0 and linearity in Φ_B0 versus n plot, together with lower barrier height and Richardson constant values obtained from Richardson plot, indicate that the barrier height of the structure is inhomogeneous in nature. Therefore, I-V characteristics are explained on the basis of Gaussian distribution of barrier height.     

Anomalous current transport in Au/low-doped n-GaAs Schottky barrier diodes at low temperatures

0 effect, the zero-bias barrier height was found to exhibit two different trends in the temperature ranges of 77–160 K and 160–300 K. The variation in the flat-band barrier height with temperature was found to be -(4.7±0.2)×10⁴ eVK^-1, approximately equal to that of the energy band gap. The value of the Richardson constant, A^**, was found to be 0.27 A cm^-2K^-2 after considering the temperature dependence of the barrier height. The estimated value of this constant suggested the possibility of an interfacial oxide between the metal and the semiconductor. Investigations suggested the possibility of a thermionic field-emission-dominated current transport with a higher characteristic energy than that predicted by the theory. The observed variation in the zero-bias barrier height and the ideality factor could be explained in terms of barrier height inhomogenities in the Schottky diode. Received: 4 December 1997/Accepted: 28 July 1998     

Effect of graphene tunnel barrier on Schottky barrier height of Heusler alloy Co_2MnSi/graphene/n-Ge junction

We demonstrate that the insertion of a graphene tunnel barrier between Heusler alloy Co_2MnSi and the germanium(Ge) channel modulates the Schottky barrier height and the resistance–area product of the spin diode. We confirm that the Fermi level is depinned and a reduction in the electron Schottky barrier height(SBH) occurs following the insertion of the graphene layer between Co_2MnSi and Ge. The electron SBH is modulated in the 0.34 eV–0.61 eV range. Furthermore,the transport mechanism changes from rectifying to symmetric tunneling following the insertion. This behavior provides a pathway for highly efficient spin injection from a Heusler alloy into a Ge channel with high electron and hole mobility.     

Prediction of lateral barrier height in identically prepared Ni/n-type GaAs Schottky barrier diodes

We have identically prepared Ni/n-GaAs/In Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with doping density of 7.3 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻³. The barrier height for the Ni/n-GaAs/In SBDs from the current-voltage characteristics have varied from 0.835 to 0.856 eV, and ideality factor n from 1.02 to 1.08. We have determined a lateral homogeneous barrier height value of 0.862 eV for the Ni/n-GaAs/In SBD from the experimental linear relationship between barrier heights and ideality factors.     

Different influences of Schottky metal on the strain and relative permittivity of barrier layer between AIN/GaN and AIGaN/GaN heterostructure Schottky diodes

Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlN/GaN and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are fabricated. Based on the measured current-voltage and capacitance-voltage curves, the polarization sheet charge density and relative permittivity are analyzed and calculated by self-consistently solving Schrodinger＇s and Poisson＇s equations. It is found that the values of relative permittivity and polarization sheet charge density of AlN/GaN diode are both much smaller than the ones of AlGaN/GaN diode, and also much lower than the theoretical values. Moreover, by fitting the measured forward 1-V curves, the extracted dislocations existing in the barrier layer of the AlN/GaN diode are found to be much more than those of the AlGaN/GaN diode. As a result, the conclusion can be made that compared with AlGaN/GaN diode the Schottky metal has an enhanced influence on the strain of the extremely thinner AlN barrier layer, which is attributed to the more dislocations.     

Investigation of the inhomogeneous barrier height of an Au/Bi4Ti3O12/n-Si structure through Gaussian distribution of barrier height

<正>A Au/Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂/n-Si structure is fabricated in order to investigate its current-voltage（I-V） characteristics in a temperature range of 300 K-400 K.Obtained I-V data are evaluated by the thermionic emission（TE） theory.Zero-bias barrier height(Φ_B0) and ideality factor（n） calculated from I-V characteristics,are found to be temperature-dependent such thatΦ_B0 increases with temperature increasing,whereas n decreases.The obtained temperature dependence ofΦ_B0 and linearity inΦ_B0 versus the n plot,together with a lower barrier height and Richardson constant values obtained from the Richardson plot,indicate that the barrier height of the structure is inhomogeneous in nature.Therefore,I-V characteristics are explained on the basis of Gaussian distribution of barrier height.     

Highway noise barrier location for maximum benefit/cost

A benefit/cost analysis of noise barrier location was conducted, which suggests that (a) for flat terrain, or terrain in which the roadway and receivers are equally elevated but separated by a ditch or other depression, the best barrier location is near the receiver, (b) for roadways raised above the right-of-way by 4 ft (1·2 m) or more, the best barrier location is probably near the highway, but this should be verified by detail design, (c) for a depressed roadway, the best barrier location is near the receiver, and (d) for terrain in which the roadway and receivers are separated by more elevated terrain, barrier location must be studied in detail—for elevations of the intermediate terrain that exceed the grade elevation by 2 ft (0·6 m) or so, the best barrier location may be the raised intermediate point.     

The barrier height inhomogeneity in Al/p-Si Schottky barrier diodes with native insulator layer

The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Al/p-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with native insulator layer were measured in the temperature range of 150-375 K. The estimated zero-bias barrier height Φ_B0 and the ideality factor n assuming thermionic emission (TE) theory show strong temperature dependence. Evaluation of the forward I-V data reveals an increase of zero-bias barrier height Φ_B0 but decrease of ideality factor n with increase in temperature. The conventional Richardson plot exhibits non-linearity below 250 K with the linear portion corresponding to activation energy of 0.41 eV and Richardson constant (A^*) value of 1.3 × 10⁻⁴ A cm⁻² K⁻² is determined from intercept at the ordinate of this experimental plot, which is much lower than the known value of 32 A cm² K² for holes in p-type Si. Such behavior is attributed to Schottky barrier inhomogene ties by assuming a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights (BHs) due to barrier height inhomogeneities that prevail at interface. Also, Φ_B0 versus q/2kT plot was drawn to obtain evidence of a Gaussian distribution of the BHs, and values of Φ_B0 = 1.055 eV and σ₀ = 0.13 V for the mean BH and zero-bias standard deviation have been obtained from this plot, respectively. Thus, the modified versus q/kT plot gives Φ_B0 and A^* as 1.050 eV and 40.08 A cm⁻² K⁻², respectively, without using the temperature coefficient of the barrier height. This value of the Richardson constant 40.03 A cm⁻² K⁻² is very close to the theoretical value of 32 A K⁻² cm⁻² for p-type Si. Hence, it has been concluded that the temperature dependence of the forward I-V characteristics of the Al/p-Si Schottky barrier diodes with native insulator layer can be successfully explained on the basis of TE mechanism with a Gaussian distribution of the barrier heights.     

Coverage Dependence of Growth Mode in Heteroepitaxy of Ni on Cu（100） Surface

A realistic kinetic Monte Carlo （KMC） simulation model with physical parameters is developed, which well reproduces the heteroepitaxial growth of multilayered Ni thin film on Cu（100） surfaces at room temperature. The effects of mass transport between interlayers and edge diffusion of atoms along the islands are included in the simulation model, and the surface roughness and the layer distribution versus total coverage are calculated. Speeially, the simulation model reveals the transition of growth mode with coverage and the difference between the Ni heteroepitaxy on Cu（100） and the Ni homoepitaxy on Ni（100）. Through comparison of KMC simulation with the real scanning tunneling microscopy （STM） experiments, the Ehrlich-Schwoebel （ES） barrier Ees is estimated to be 0.18±0.02 eV for Ni/Cu（100） system while 0.28 eV for Ni/Ni（100）. The simulation also shows that the growth mode depends strongly on the thickness of thin film and the surface temperature, and the critical thickness of growth mode transition is dependent on the growth condition such as surface temperature and deposition flux as well.