Schottky-type grain boundaries in CCTO ceramics

In this work we studied electrical barriers existing at CaCu₃Ti₄O₁₂ (CCTO) ceramics using dc electrical measurements. CCTO pellets were produced by solid state reaction method and X-ray diffractograms showed which single phase polycrystalline samples were obtained. The samples were electrically characterized by dc and ac measurements as a function of temperature, and semiconductor theory was applied to analyze the barrier at grain boundaries. The ac results showed the sample’s permittivity is almost constant (10⁴) as function of temperature at low frequencies and it changes from 100 to 10⁴ as the temperature increases at high frequencies. Using dc measurements as a function of temperature, the behavior of barriers was studied in detail. Comparison between Schottky and Poole-Frenkel models was performed, and results prove that CCTO barriers are more influenced by temperature than by electric field (Schottky barriers). Besides, the behavior of barrier width as function of temperature was also studied and experimental results confirm the theoretical assumptions.     

The effects of annealing on Au/pyronine-B/MD n-InP Schottky structure

Thin film of non-polymeric organic compound pyronine-B has been fabricated on moderately doped (MD) n-InP substrate as an interfacial layer using spin coating technique for the electronic modification of Au/MD n-InP Schottky contact. The electrical characteristics have been determined at room temperature. The barrier height and the ideality factor values for Au/pyronine-B/MD n-InP Schottky diode have been obtained from the forward bias I-V characteristics at room temperature as 0.60 eV and 1.041; 0.571 and 1.253 eV after annealing at 100 and 250 °C, respectively. An increase in annealing temperature at the Au/n-InP Schottky junction is shown to increase the reverse bias leakage current by about one order of magnitude and decrease the Schottky barrier height by 0.027 eV. Furthermore, the barrier height values for the Au/pyronine-B/MD n-InP Schottky diode have also been obtained from the C-V characteristics at room temperature as 1.001 and 0.709 eV after annealing at 100 and 250 °C, respectively. Finally, it was seen that the diode parameters changed with increase in the annealing temperature.     

Leakage current, ferroelectric and structural properties in Pb1−xBaxTiO3 thin films prepared by chemical route

Single-phase perovskite structure Pb_1−xBa_xTiO₃ thin films (x=0.30, 0.50 and 0.70) were deposited on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by the spin-coating technique. The dielectric study reveals that the thin films undergo a diffuse type ferroelectric phase transition, which shows a broad peak. An increase of the diffusivity degree with the increasing Barium contents was observed, and it was associated to a grain decrease in the studied composition range. The temperature dependence of the phonon frequencies was used to characterize the phase transition temperatures. Raman modes persist above tetragonal to cubic phase transition temperature, although all optical modes should be Raman inactive. The origin of these modes was interpreted in terms of breakdown of the local cubic symmetry by chemical disorder. The absence of a well-defined transition temperature and the presence of broad bands in some interval temperature above FE-PE phase transition temperature suggested a diffuse type phase transition. This result corroborates the dielectric constant versus temperature data, which showed a broad ferroelectric phase transition in these thin films. The leakage current density of the PBT thin films was studied at different temperatures and the data follow the Schottky emission model. Through this analysis the Schottky barrier height values 0.75, 0.53 and 0.34 eV were obtained to the PBT70, PBT50 and PBT30 thin films, respectively.     

Molecular control over Ag/p-Si diode by organic layer

Electrical transport properties of Ag metal-fluorescein sodium salt (FSS) organic layer-silicon junction have been investigated. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the diode show rectifying behavior consistent with a potential barrier formed at the interface. The diode indicates a non-ideal I-V behavior with an ideality factor higher than unity. The ideality factor of the Ag/FSS/p-Si diode decreases with increasing temperature and the barrier height increases with increasing temperature. The barrier height (φ_b=0.98 eV) obtained from the capacitance-voltage (C-V) curve is higher than barrier height (φ_b=0.72 eV) derived from the I-V measurements. The barrier height of the Ag/FSS/p-Si Schottky diode at the room temperature is significantly larger than that of the Ag/p-Si Schottky diode. It is evaluated that the FSS organic layer controls electrical charge transport properties of Ag/p-Si diode by excluding effects of the SiO₂ residual oxides on the hybrid diode.     

Admittance spectroscopy of polycrystalline and epitaxially grown CuGaSe2

Using either single crystalline, epitaxially grown p-type CuGaSe₂ (CGSe) films in Schottky diodes or polycrystalline p-CuGaSe₂/n-CdS single-junction solar cells, we employed thermal admittance spectroscopy (TAS) to gain insight into the electronic transport mechanisms of CGSe. In both types of devices, the capacitance decreases about 50% to its geometrical value in a frequency dependent step between 250 and 150 K. For the Schottky diodes, this capacitance step reflects the response of the shallowest acceptors whose energy level is located 150 meV above the valence band. In the solar cells, a comparable response occurs but is superposed by carrier freeze-out outside the space-charge region.     

Electrical behaviour of SiOxNy thin films and correlation with structural defects

Silicon oxynitride thin films were deposited by reactive r.f. sputtering from a silicon target. Different Ar:O₂:N₂ gas atmospheres were used at fixed power density (3.18 W cm⁻²) and pressure (0.4 Pa) to obtain various film composition. Pt-SiO_xN_y-Pt sandwich type structure was realised for electrical property investigations. The C-V measurements showed the absence of a Schottky barrier and thus confirmed that Pt electrode provides an ohmic contact. The evolution of the current density showed a decrease of the film conductivity when the oxygen concentration in the films increases. The various layer composition leads to two different conduction mechanisms which were identified as space charge limited current (SCLC) and Poole-Frenkel effect. Finally, the structural defects of the films were studied by EPR analysis and the spin densities were correlated to both the composition and the electrical behaviour of the films.     

Electronic properties of the metal/organic interlayer/inorganic semiconductor sandwich device

In this study, we prepared a Metal(Al)/Organic Interlayer(Congo Red=CR)/Inorganic Semiconductor (p-Si) (MIS) Schottky device formed by coating of an organic film on p-Si semiconductor wafer. The Al/CR/p-Si MIS device had a good rectifying behavior. By using the forward bias I-V characteristics, the values of ideality factor (n) and barrier height (Φ_b) for the Al/CR/p-Si MIS device were obtained as 1.68 and 0.77 eV, respectively. It was seen that the Φ_b value of 0.77 eV calculated for the Al/CR/p-Si MIS device was significantly higher than value of 0.50 eV of the conventional Al/p-Si Schottky diodes. Modification of the interfacial potential barrier of the Al/p-Si diode was achieved by using a thin interlayer of the CR organic material. This was attributed to the fact that the CR organic interlayer increased the effective barrier height by influencing the space charge region of Si. The interface-state density of the MIS diode was found to vary from 1.24×10¹³ to 2.44×10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻².     

Improved electrical and interfacial properties of RF-sputtered HfAlOx on n-GaAs with effective Si passivation

In this paper, we present the effects of ultrathin Si interfacial layer on the physical and electrical properties of GaAs MOS capacitors fabricated using RF-sputtered HfAlO_x gate dielectric. It is found that HfAlO_x/Si/n-GaAs stack exhibits excellent electrical properties with low frequency dispersion (∼4.8%), hysteresis voltage (0.27 V) and interface trap density (1.3 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻²). The current density of 3.7 × 10⁻⁵ A/cm² is achieved with an equivalent-oxide-thickness of 1.8 nm at V_FB + 1 V for Si-passivated HfAlO_x films on n-GaAs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis shows that the suppression of low-k interfacial layer formation is accomplished with the introduction of ultrathin Si interface control layer (ICL). Thus the introduction of thin layer of Si between HfAlO_x dielectrics and GaAs substrate is an effective way to improve the interface quality such as low frequency dispersion, hysteresis voltage and leakage current. Additionally, current conduction mechanism has been studied and the dominant conduction mechanisms are found to be Schottky emission at low to medium electric fields and Poole-Frenkel at high fields and high temperatures under substrate injection. In case of gate injection, the main current conduction at low field is found to be the Schottky emission at high temperatures.     

Schottky defects in cubic lattice of SrTiO3

Structural and electronic properties produced by formation of Schottky defects in cubic structure of SrTiO₃ crystal are investigated by means of a quantum-chemical simulation based on the Hartree-Fock methodology. The occurrence of Sr partial Schottky defect (V_Sr+V_O) and two types of Ti partial Schottky defects (V_Ti+2V_O) is modeled using a supercell containing 135 atoms. Vacancy-induced changes in the positions of their neighboring atoms are analyzed in light of the computed electron density redistribution in the defective region of supercell. The observed local one-electron energy levels in the gap between the upper valence band and the conduction band can be attributed to the presence of anion and cation vacancies.     

Thermal annealing behaviour of Al/Ni/Au multilayer on n-GaN Schottky contacts

Recently GaN-based high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have revealed the superior properties of a high breakdown field and high electron saturation velocity. Reduction of the gate leakage current is one of the key issues to be solved for their further improvement. This paper reports that an Al layer as thin as 3 nm was inserted between the conventional Ni/Au Schottky contact and n-GaN epilayers, and the Schottky behaviour of Al/Ni/Au contact was investigated under various annealing conditions by current--voltage (I--V) measurements. A non-linear fitting method was used to extract the contact parameters from the I--V characteristic curves. Experimental results indicate that reduction of the gate leakage current by as much as four orders of magnitude was successfully recorded by thermal annealing. And high quality Schottky contact with a barrier height of 0.875 eV and the lowest reverse-bias leakage current, respectively, can be obtained under 12 min annealing at 450°C in N₂ ambience.     

Poole-Frenkel conduction in Al/ZrO2 /SiO 2 /Si structures

Leakage currents through Al/ZrO₂/SiO₂/n-Si metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) capacitors were studied. Thin SiO₂ films were chemically grown on monocrystalline phosphorous doped silicon wafers. Zirconia films with thicknesses of 15 and 50 nm were deposited by radio frequency (rf) magnetron sputtering and, then, annealed in oxygen ambient at 850 ^○C, for 1 h. The dielectric constant of the sputtered and annealed ZrO₂ layer was of about 17.8. The equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) of the stack 15 nm and 50 nm-ZrO₂/SiO₂ structure was estimated to be 3.2 nm and 10.7 nm, respectively. The temperature dependence of the leakage currents was explained by Poole-Frenkel (PF) conduction mechanism. Shallow trap levels in the studied structure of about 0.2 eV and 0.46 eV were calculated. The existence of A and D-defects, due to the sputtering and high temperature annealing in oxygen, was suggested.     

Leakage currents in thin ferroelectric films

The basic mechanisms of leakage current components of thin lead zirconate titanate (PZT) ferroelectric films grown by the sol-gel method have been studied. Characteristic regions of current-voltage characteristics with different charge transport mechanisms have been determined. It has been shown that there is an intermediate region which separates such regions. In one of them, the leakage current depends on properties of the contact of electrodes with PZT film at low voltages; in the other, the leakage current is controlled by intrinsic properties of the PZT film bulk, and the basic mechanism of charge transport is Poole-Frenkel emission. In the intermediate region, a stepwise change in the current has been observed, which is caused by relaxing breakdown of the Schottky barrier. Time dependences of the leakage currents have been determined. It has been shown that the leakage current decreases with increasing delay time before the Schottky barrier breakdown, and the dependence becomes opposite in character after the breakdown.     

溶胶-凝胶法制备MgO/(Ba0.8Sr0.2)TiO3多层薄膜及其介电和漏电特性研究

采用改进的溶胶-凝胶方法在LaNiO₃/Si(100)衬底上制备了MgO/(Ba_{0.8Sr0.2)TiO3多层薄膜.实验结果表明，MgO层的引入改变了(Ba0.8}Sr_0.2)TiO₃的介电特性和漏电流行为，使薄膜的漏电 流降低了3个数量级，但介电常数也有相应降低.漏电流的显著降低是由MgO子层的高阻特性 以及微量Mg向(Ba_0.8关键词： 0.8Sr_0.2)TiO₃多层薄膜')" href="#">MgO/(Ba_0.8Sr_0.2)TiO₃多层薄膜 漏电流 介电常 数     

Conduction in magnesium phthalocyanine thin films with aluminium electrodes

The various electrical properties and the nature of conduction mechanisms of magnesium phthalocyanine thin film devices with top and bottom aluminium electrodes have been investigated. The conduction mechanism was identified as injection limited essentially due to the electrode material. Even with the same electrode materials, the device showed asymmetric conduction behavior in the forward and reverse bias. In general the conduction was interpreted as a Schottky emission with barrier height Φ_s=1.07 eV for the forward bias and Φ_s=1.09 eV in the reverse bias. The effect of oxygen on the conductivity of the device has also been investigated. In the oxygen doped samples the conductivity is decreased which may be attributed to an interfacial layer between the electrode and the organic layer. Further in the oxygen doped sample while a Schottky emission is observed at lower voltages Poole-Frenkel conductivity was identified in the higher voltage region.     

AlGaN/GaN异质结Ni/Au肖特基表面处理及退火研究

采用O₂等离子体及HF溶液对AlGaN/GaN异质结材料进行表面处理后，Ni/Au肖特基接触特性比未处理有了明显改善，反向泄漏电流减小3个数量级.对制备的肖特基接触进行200—600℃ 5min的N₂气氛退火，发现退火冷却后肖特基反向泄漏电流随退火温度增大进一步减小.N₂气中600℃退火后肖特基二极管C-V特性曲线在不同频率下一致性变好，这表明退火中Ni向材料表面扩散减小了表面陷阱密度；C-V特性曲线随退火温度增大向右移动，从二维电子气耗尽电压绝对值减小反映了肖特基势垒的提高. 关键词： AlGaN/GaN 肖特基接触 表面处理 退火     

Barrier lowering and leakage current reduction in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes with an oxygen-treated GaN cap layer

We report on the effect of oxygen annealing for GaN surface on the Schottky barrier configuration and leakage current in Ni-AlGaN/GaN Schottky barrier diodes. After oxygen annealing, their turn-on voltage and reverse-bias leakage current characteristics are significantly improved due to a reduction in the Schottky barrier height (SBH) and suppression in the surface states respectively. Interface state density extracted from the Terman method was reduced by 2 orders of magnitude. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements show that the oxygen annealing induces Ga₂O₃ on the GaN surface. The formation of Ga₂O₃ reduces the interface state density as well as lowers the SBH through the modification of hybridized metal induced gap states.     

In vitro reactivity of Na2O-MgO-SiO2 glasses

A variety of bioactive glasses have been investigated over the last two decades as substitute material for diseased or damaged tissues in a human body. In this investigation, three different melt derived bioactive glasses, each having 55% by mole SiO₂ and ratio of MgO to Na₂O varying from 1:8 to 8:1, were prepared by melting various oxides at temperature >1250 °C. After microstructure evolution, vitro reactivity of these glasses was examined by keeping them in simulated body fluid (trans buffered pH 7.25 at 25 cc). The surface reactivity of these glasses gradually increased with increasing Na₂O/MgO ratio.     

Carrier transport mechanism of strained AlGaN/GaN Schottky contacts

Using polarization field effect-based thermionic field emission (PFE-TFE) model based on current–voltage–temperature data, possible carrier transport mechanisms for Pt/Au and Cr/Pd Schottky contacts to Al_0.25Ga_0.75N/GaN layers were investigated. Thermionic emission (TE) model was also investigated to compare to the PFE-TFE. It was shown that Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) are significantly affected by a polarization field-induced carrier density of the AlGaN layer. In addition, relatively little temperature dependence on the leakage current density of both contacts was found, which is in good agreement with the PFE-TFE model. The results indicate that the TFE is responsible for the current flow across the metal/AlGaN–GaN interface at T ≥ 293 K.     

Performance comparison of Pt/Au and Ni/Au Schottky contacts on AlxGa1-x N/GaN heterostructures at high temperatures

In contrast with Au/Ni/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts,this paper systematically investigates the effect of thermal annealing of Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN structures on electrical properties of the two-dimensional electron gas in Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN heterostructures by means of temperature-dependent Hall and temperature-dependent current-voltage measurements.The two-dimensional electron gas density of the samples with Pt cap layer increases after annealing in N 2 ambience at 600℃ while the annealing treatment has little effect on the two-dimensional electron gas mobility in comparison with the samples with Ni cap layer.The experimental results indicate that the Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts reduce the reverse leakage current density at high annealing temperatures of 400-600℃.As a conclusion,the better thermal stability of the Au/Pt/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts than the Au/Ni/Al 0.25 Ga 0.75 N/GaN Schottky contacts at high temperatures can be attributed to the inertness of the interface between Pt and AlxGa1-xN.     

Thermal stability of tungsten and tungsten nitride Schottky contacts to AlGaN/GaN

Thin tungsten nitride (WNx) films were produced by reactive DC magnetron sputtering of tungsten in an Ar-N2 gas mixture. The films were used as Schottky contacts on AlGaN/GaN heterostructures. The Schottky behaviours of WNx contact was investigated under various annealing conditions by current-voltage (I-V ) measurements. The results show that the gate leakage current was reduced to 10-6 A/cm2 when the N2 flow is 400 mL/min. The results also show that the WNx contact improved the thermal stability of Schottky contacts. Finally, the current transport mechanism in WNx/AlGaN/GaN Schottky diodes has been investigated by means of I-V characterisation technique at various temperatures between 300 K and 523 K. A TE model with a Gaussian distribution of Schottky barrier heights (SBHs) is thought to be responsible for the electrical behaviour at temperatures lower than 523 K.