Characteristics and parameter extraction for NiGe/n-type Ge Schottky diode with variable annealing temperatures

Current transport mechanism in Ni-germanide/n-type Ge Schottky diodes is investigated using current--voltage characterisation technique with annealing temperatures from 300~\duto 500~\du. Based on the current transport model, a simple method to extract parameters of the NiGe/Ge diode is presented by using the $I$--$V$ characteristics. Parameters of NiGe/n-type Ge Schottky diodes fabricated for testing in this paper are as follows: the ideality factor $n$, the series resistance $R_{\rm s}$, the zero-field barrier height $\phi _{\rm b0}$, the interface state density $D_{\rm it}$, and the interfacial layer capacitance $C_{\rm i}$. It is found that the ideality factor $n$ of the diode increases with the increase of annealing temperature. As the temperature increases, the interface defects from the sputtering damage and the penetration of metallic states into the Ge energy gap are passivated, thus improving the junction quality. However, the undesirable crystallisations of Ni-germanide are observed together with NiGe at a temperature higher than 400~\du. Depositing a very thin ($\sim $1~nm) heavily Ge-doped $n^{+}$ Ge intermediate layer can improve the NiGe film morphology significantly.     

Effect of gas flow ratio on the microstructure and mechanical properties of boron phosphide films prepared by reactive magnetron sputtering

Boron phosphide films were grown on silicon substrate by radio frequency reactive magnetron sputtering using boron target and hydrogen phosphine at different gas flow ratios (PH₃/Ar) at lower temperature. The chemical composition, microstructure and mechanical properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectrum, FTIR spectrum, surface profilometer and nano-indenter. The results indicate that the atomic ratio (P/B) rises from 1.06 up to 1.52 with the gas flow ratio increasing from 3/50 to 15/50. Simultaneously, the hardness and Young's modulus decrease from 25.4 GPa to 22.5 GPa, and 250.4 GPa to 238.4 GPa, respectively. Microstructure transforms from microcrystalline state to amorphous state along with the gas flow ratio increasing. Furthermore higher gas flow ratio leads to lower stress. The BP film prepared at the gas flow ratio of 3/50 can be contributed with the best properties.     

The influence of substrate temperature on electrical properties of Cu/CdS/SnO2 Schottky diode

Polycrystalline CdS samples on the SnO₂ coated glass substrate were obtained by vacuum evaporation method at low substrate temperatures (T_S=200 and 300 K) instead of the commonly used vacuum evaporation at high substrate temperatures (T_S>300 K). X-ray diffraction studies showed that the textures of the films are hexagonal with a strong (0 0 2) preferred direction. Circular Cu contacts were deposited on the upper surface of the CdS thin films at 200 K by vacuum evaporation. The effects of low substrate temperature on the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the Cu/CdS/SnO₂ structure were investigated in the temperature range 100-300 K. The Cu/CdS (at 300 K)/SnO₂ structure shows exponential current-voltage variations. However, I-V characteristics of the Cu/CdS (at 200 K)/SnO₂ structure deviate from exponential behavior due to high series resistance. The diodes show non-ideal I-V behavior with an ideality factor greater than unity. The results indicate that the current transport mechanism in the Cu/CdS (at 300 K)/SnO₂ structure in the whole temperature range is performed by tunneling with E₀₀=143 meV. However, the current transport mechanism in the Cu/CdS (at 200 K)/SnO₂ structure is tunneling in the range 200-300 K with E₀₀=82 meV.     

Electronic and interface state density distribution properties of Ag/p-Si Schottky diode

Electronic and interface state distribution properties of Ag/p-Si Schottky diode have been investigated. The diode indicates non-ideal current-voltage behavior with an ideality factor greater than unity. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristic is linear in reverse bias indicating rectification behavior and charge density within depletion layer is uniform. From I-V and C-V characteristics, junction parameters such as diode ideality factor and barrier height were found as 1.66 and ?_B(I-V) = 0.84 eV (?_B(C-V) = 0.90 eV), respectively. The interface state density N_ss and relaxation time τ of the Schottky diode were determined by means of Schottky capacitance spectroscopy method. The results show the presence of thin interfacial layer between the metal and semiconductor.     

Low frequency characteristics of a quasioptical Schottky diode detector part I: Theory

A theoretical study is made of saturation effects of FIR point contacts Schottky diodes when used in the envelope detection mode of operation. A model is described that fits experimental results for radiation wavelength ranging from microwaves down to FIR wavelengths. This model permits the prediction of saturation levels throughout this range.     

Synthesis of MgB2 films by diffusion of magnesium into electrophoretically deposited boron films

The boron films were formed from the optimized stable suspension solution of boron particles using electrophoretic deposition technique. The magnesium film with optimized thickness was deposited onto boron films by vacuum evaporation technique. The heterogeneous structure was given heat treatment in ambient and vacuum atmosphere for diffusion of Mg into the boron films to form MgB₂ phase. XRD studies were carried out on both as deposited and heat treated heterostructure films to investigate their structure and phase. Surface morphological studies of these films were done by SEM.     

Modeling of 4H--SiC multi-floating-junction Schottky barrier diode

This paper develops a new and easy to implement analytical model for the specific on-resistance and electric field distribution along the critical path for 4H-SiC multi-floating junction Schottky barrier diode. Considering the charge compensation effects by the multilayer of buried opposite doped regions, it improves the breakdown voltage a lot in comparison with conventional one with the same on-resistance. The forward resistance of the floating junction Schottky barrier diode consists of several components and the electric field can be understood with superposition concept, both are consistent with MEDICI simulation results. Moreover, device parameters are optimized and the analyses show that in comparison with one layer floating junction, multilayer of floating junction layer is an effective way to increase the device performance when specific resistance and the breakdown voltage are traded off. The results show that the specific resistance increases 3.2 mΩ·cm 2 and breakdown voltage increases 422 V with an additional floating junction for the given structure.     

Effect of nanopatches on electrical behavior of Ni/n-type Si Schottky diode

Topological surface measurement of thin metal film using a conducting probe atomic force microscope (C-AFM) shows that thin metal film deposited on Ni/n-Si Schottky diode (SD) consists of patches. These patches are sets of parallel connected and electrically cooperating nano-contacts of size between 50 and 100nm. Every individual patch acts as an individual diode with different I-V curve, barrier height (BH) and ideality factor (n). Between these diodes or patches, there are spot field distributions; the patches with different local work functions are in direct electric contact with surrounding patches. As a result, a potential difference between surfaces of patches, the so-called electrostatic spot field E_f, is formed. It is shown that in real metal-semiconductor (MS) contacts, patches with quite different configurations, various geometrical sizes and local work functions are randomly distributed on the surface of metal; hence direction and intensity of spot field are non-uniformly distributed along the surface of metal. There is a linear dependence between barrier height and ideality factor, which is the consequence of reduction of distance of the maximum of BH from the interface. This dependency is the sign of reduction of contribution of a peripheral current.     

Dependence of photocurrent on UV wavelength in ZnO/Pt bottom-contact Schottky diode

We fabricated the bottom-contacted ZnO/Pt Schottky diode and investigated the dependence of its photocurrent on the wavelength of illuminated ultraviolet (UV) light source. The bottom-contacted Schottky diode was devised by growing (000l) ZnO on (111) Pt, and the fabricated device showed a strong dependence on the UV wavelength for its photo-response characteristics. When longer-wavelength-UV (e.g., UV-A) was illuminated on the device, the photo-current was increased by a factor of 200, compared to that under illumination of shorter-wavelength-UV (e.g., UV-C). The behavior is attributed to the wavelength-dependent UV penetration depth for ZnO.     

Prediction of barrier inhomogeneities and carrier transport in Ni-silicided Schottky diode

Based on Quantum Mechanical (QM) carrier transport and the effects of interface states, a theoretical model has been developed to predict the anomalous current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of a non-ideal Ni-silicided Schottky diode at low temperatures. Physical parameters such as barrier height, ideality factor, series resistance and effective Richardson constant of a silicided Schottky diode were extracted from forward I-V characteristics and are subsequently used for the simulation of both forward and reverse I-V characteristics using a QM transport model in which the effects of interface state and bias dependent barrier reduction are incorporated. The present analysis indicates that the effects of barrier inhomogeneity caused by incomplete silicide formation at the junction and the interface states may change the conventional current transport process, leading to anomalous forward and reverse I-V characteristics for the Ni-silicided Schottky diode.     

肖特基二极管整流的计算与测量

 提出了改进型的肖特基二极管整流数理模型,用加速迭代法和四阶精度龙格-库塔法编制了计算程序,并结合实验测量得到了整流效率与输入功率、频率和负载等关系曲线:负载一定时,输入功率从零开始增大,整流效率先快速上升,然后上升趋势变缓;输入功率一定时,负载从零开始增大,整流效率先增大后减小,对于某一固定的输入功率,存在着一个最佳负载值;当输入功率和负载都相同时,降低工作频率,整流效率上升。型号为2DV10B的X波段管子在负载为525 W、输入功率为10 mW、频率为3.2 GHz时获得的整流效率为75.2%;频率为10 GHz时获得50.2%的效率,实验测量结果与理论分析一致。     

Electrical characterization of Schottky diodes based on boron doped homoepitaxial diamond films by conducting probe atomic force microscopy

A large planar tungsten carbide (WC) Schottky diode on p-type homoepitaxial diamond was mainly investigated on a microscopic level by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and conducting probe atomic force microscopy (CP-AFM), allowing simultaneous topographic and local electrical resistance imaging measurements. These techniques revealed the existence of a specific microstructure on the WC Schottky contact consisting of electrically insulating islands surrounded by conductive paths. The islands are found to be insulating in the whole range of explored bias [−5 V, +5 V], whereas the current flowing between the islands is 1000 times lower at a reverse bias of −5 V than at a forward bias of +5 V, in agreement with the rectifying ratio found from macroscopic current–voltage (I–V) measurements. CP-AFM provides a prospective imaging tool which is well suited for analyzing the local electrical properties and instabilities of Schottky junctions.     

Analysis and simulation of a 4H-SiC semi-superjunction Schottky barrier diode for softer reverse-recovery

In this paper,a 4H-SiC semi-superjunction (SJ) Schottky barrier diode is analysed and simulated.The semi-SJ structure has an optimized design and a specific on-resistance lower than that of conventional SJ structures,which can be achieved without increasing the process difficulty.The simulation results show that the specific on-resistance and the softness factor depend on the aspect and thickness ratios,and that by using the semi-SJ structure,specific on-resistance can be reduced without decreasing the softness factor.It is observed that a trade-off exists between the specific on-resistance and the softness of the diode.     

Analysis and simulation of a 4H-SiC semi-superjunction Schottky barrier diode for softer reverse-recovery

In this paper, a 4H-SiC semi-superjunction (SJ) Schottky barrier diode is analysed and simulated. The semi-SJ structure has an optimized design and a specific on-resistance lower than that of conventional SJ structures, which can be achieved without increasing the process difficulty. The simulation results show that the specific on-resistance and the softness factor depend on the aspect and thickness ratios, and that by using the semi-SJ structure, specific on-resistance can be reduced without decreasing the softness factor. It is observed that a trade-off exists between the specific on-resistance and the softness of the diode.     

Effect of boron ion implantation on the structural, optical and electrical properties of ZnSe thin films

Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) thin films were deposited onto well cleaned glass substrates using vacuum evaporation technique under a vacuum of 3×10⁻⁵ mbar. The prepared ZnSe samples were implanted with mass analyzed 75 keV B⁺ ions at different doses ranging from 10¹² to 10¹⁶ ions cm⁻². The composition, thickness, microstructures, surface roughness and optical band gap of the as-deposited and boron-implanted films were studied by Rutherford backscattering (RBS), grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, Atomic force microscopy, Raman scattering and transmittance measurements. The RBS analysis indicates that the composition of the as-deposited and boron-implanted films is nearly stoichiometric. The thickness of the as-deposited film is calculated as 230 nm. The structure of the as-deposited and boron-implanted thin films is cubic. It is found that the surface roughness increases on increasing the dose of boron ions. In the optical studies, the optical band gap value decreases with an increase of boron concentration. In the electrical studies, the prepared device gave a very good response in the blue wavelength region.     

Simulation study of a mixed terminal structure for 4H-SiC merged PiN/Schottky diode

In this paper, a mixed terminal structure for the 4H-SiC merged PiN/Schottky diode (MPS) is investigated, which is a combination of a field plate, a junction termination extension and floating limiting rings. Optimization is performed on the terminal structure by using the ISE-TCAD. Further analysis shows that this structure can greatly reduce the sensitivity of the breakdown voltage to the doping concentration and can effectively suppress the effect of the interface charge compared with the structure of the junction termination extension. At the same time, the 4H-SiC MPS with this termination structure can reach a high and stable breakdown voltage.     

Directly extracting both threshold voltage and series resistance from the conductance-voltage curve of an AlGaN/GaN Schottky diode

An Ni/Au Schottky contact on an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure has been prepared. By using the peak-conductance model, the threshold voltage and the series resistance of the AlGaN/GaN diode are simultaneously extracted from the conductance-voltage (G-V) curve and found to be in good agreement with the ones obtained by using the capacitance-voltage (C-V) curve integration and the plot of dV/d(ln I) versus current I. Thus, a method of directly and simultaneously extracting both the threshold voltage and the series resistance from the conductance-voltage curve for the AlGaN/GaN Schottky diode is developed.     

Improving Ni/GaN Schottky diode performance through interfacial passivation layer formed via ultraviolet/ozone treatment

Electrical passivation has a significant effect on metal-semiconductor (MS) device operations including performance and reliability. In this study, the improvement in performance of Ni/GaN Schottky diodes (SDs) through an ultraviolet/ozone (UV/O₃) interface treatment is investigated and the mechanism of carrier conduction at the MS junction interfaces is analyzed. The formation of surface oxide layer at the MS interface through the UV/O₃ treatment is confirmed by the measurements using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, contact angle, and atomic force microscopy. The atomic intensity and surface energy increased and surface roughness improved through the implementation of oxide layer. Electrical measurements reveal reduced leakage and improved breakdown voltage and are used to determine the Schottky barrier height and Richardson constant of the Ni/GaN MS SDs. The enhancement in the entire performance of the MS SDs is attributed to the passivation of defect centers at the dislocation-related pits through the formation of oxide layer with the UV/O₃ treatment, which thereby improves the carrier transfer properties of Ni/GaN SDs.     

Synthesis of hexagonal boron nitride thin film on Pt substrates for resistive switching memory applications

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), due to its high reliability as a two-dimensional (2D) dielectric material, has attracted much attention for its potential applications in nanoelectronic devices. Here, the use of radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering-grown hBN films to construct hBN-based resistive switching (RS) memory device is reported, and the RS mechanism is deduced. The hBN-based RS memory shows low operating voltage, reproducible write cycles, and long retention time. First-principles simulations further confirm the resistive switching. This work provides an important case to facilitate the future applications of 2D materials in the RS memory.