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.     

The electrical characterization of Zn(Phen)q/p-type Si/Al diode with interfacial layer by current–voltage characteristics

The current–voltage characteristics of Zinc (II) [(8-hydroxyquinoline)(1,10-phenanthroline)] complex (Zn(phen)q)/p-type Si/Al diode with interfacial layer have been investigated. The barrier height and ideality factor of the diode were found to be 0.71 eV and 2.05. Zn(phen)q/p-type Si/Al diode shows a metal–insulator–semiconductor structure resulted from presence of series resistance and an interfacial layer. The n and φ_B values obtained the presence of interfacial layer are 1.02 and 0.70 eV, respectively. The effect of series resistance was evaluated using a method developed by Cheung. The R_s and n values were determined from the d ln(I)/dV plot and were found to be 30.43 kΩ and 2.16, respectively. The barrier height and R_s values were calculated from the H(I)–I plot and were found to be 0.70 eV and 30.99 kΩ. The density of the interface states of the Zn(phen)q/p-type Si/Al diode was calculated and was found to be an order of 10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻².     

Barrier height engineering of Ag/GaAs(100) Schottky contacts by a thin organic interlayer

Thin films of 3,4,9,10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) were used as an interlayer for the electronic modification of Ag/n-GaAs(100) Schottky contacts. The electronic properties were investigated recording in situ current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics. For H-plasma treated substrates the effective barrier height decreases from 0.81 to 0.64 eV as a function of the PTCDA layer thickness (d_PTCDA). In the case of the sulphur passivated GaAs the effective barrier height first increases and then decreases, the overall range being 0.54–0.73 eV. The substrate treatment leads to a different alignment between the band edges of the GaAs and the molecular orbitals of the PTCDA, making it possible to determine the energy position of the LUMO transport level.     

The importance of the series resistance in calculating the characteristic parameters of the Schottky contacts

Cd/p-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with and without the native oxide layer have been fabricated to determine the importance of the fact that the series resistance value is considered in calculating the interface state density distribution (ISDD) from the forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the Cd/p-Si SBDs. The statistical analysis yielded mean values of 0.71 ± 0.02 eV and 1.24 ± 0.12 for the BH and ideality factor of the Cd/p-Si SBDs (15 dots) without the native oxide layer (MS), respectively, and mean values of 0.79 ± 0.02 eV and 1.36 ± 0.06 eV for the Cd/p-Si SBDs (28 dots) with the native oxide layer (metal-insulating layer-semiconductor (MIS)). The interface state density (Nss) distributions of the devices were calculated taking into account their series resistance values. At the same energy position near the top of the valence band, the interface state density values without taking into account the series resistance value of the devices are almost one order of magnitude larger than Nss obtained taking into account series resistance value.     

Electrical characterization of Au/poly (linoleic acid)-g-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PLiMMA)/n-Si diode in dark and under illumination

In this study, poly (linoleic acid)-g-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PLiMMA) graft copolymer is used as an interfacial layer in a Schottky diode for the first time. Au/poly (linoleic acid)-g-poly(methyl methacrylate) (PLiMMA)/n-Si diode was fabricated and main electrical characteristics of the diode were investigated using I–V measurements in dark and under illumination at room temperature. Ideality factor (n), barrier height (Φ_B0) and serial resistance (R_s) values of the diode were found as 2.8, 0.87 eV and 8096 Ω for dark, and 6.3, 0.71 eV and 676 Ω for 100 mW/cm² illumination intensity. Also, the reasons of deviation from ideal thermionic emission theory were investigated using Cheung&Cheung method and Card&Rhoderick's function which are used for calculating voltage dependence of barrier height (Φ_B(V)), series resistance (R_s) and number of surface states (N_ss) of the Au/PLiMMA/n-Si diode.     

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.     

Forward and reverse bias current-voltage characteristics of Au/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes with and without SnO2 insulator layer

The effects of interfacial insulator layer, interface states (N_ss) and series resistance (R_s) on the electrical characteristics of Au/n-Si structures have been investigated using forward and reverse bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics at room temperature. Therefore, Au/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were fabricated as SBDs with and without insulator SnO₂ layer to explain the effect of insulator layer on main electrical parameters. The values of ideality factor (n), R_s and barrier height (Φ_Bo) were calculated from ln(I) vs. V plots and Cheung methods. The energy density distribution profile of the interface states was obtained from the forward bias I-V data by taking bias dependence of ideality factor, effective barrier height (Φ_e) and R_s into account for MS and MIS SBDs. It was found that N_ss values increase from at about mid-gap energy of Si to bottom of conductance band edge of both SBDs and the MIS SBD’s N_ss values are 5-10 times lower than those of MS SBD’s. An apparent exponential increase from the mid-gap towards the bottom of conductance band is observed for both SBDs’ (MS and MIS) interface states obtained without taking R_s into account.     

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.     

Photovoltaic characteristics of Au/PVA (Bi-doped)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) at various temperatures

The charge conduction properties of the Au/PVA (Bi-doped)/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) were investigated using current–voltage–temperature (I–V–T) measurements in dark and under various illumination levels. For this purpose, the main diode parameters such as reverse-saturation current (I_o), zero-bias barrier height (Φ_Bo), ideality factor (n), series resistance (R_s) and shunt resistance (R_sh) of diode were obtained as function of temperature and illumination level. Experimental results show that all of these electrical parameters are strong functions of illumination and temperature. The change in all electrical parameters becomes more important at low temperatures and illumination levels. While the n value decreases with increasing temperature and illumination level, Φ_Bo value increases. The fill factor (FF = V_m·I_m/V_oc·I_sc) values were obtained as 0.34 at 80 K and 0.40 at 320 K under 50 W and these values are near to a photodiode. Therefore, the fabricated diode can be used as a photodiode in optoelectronic applications. The forward bias I–V characteristics of the diode have also been explained by the space charge limited current (SCLC) model.     

The effect of temperature on the electrical characteristics of Ti/n-GaAs Schottky diodes

Schottky diodes still attract researchers as they are used in various device applications. This study provides I–V characteristics of Ti/n-GaAs (80–300 K). Higher barrier height (Φ_B0) values were obtained for higher temperatures, whereas the ideality factor exhibited the opposite behavior. This was associated with a barrier inhomogeneity at the Ti/GaAs interface, which has a Gaussian distribution (GD). The mean barrier height values calculated from the modified Richardson and Φ_B0 - q/2 kT plots were found to be 0.584 eV and 0.575 eV in the temperature range of 80–160 K. They were found as 1.041 eV and 1.033 eV between 180 K and 300 K, respectively. The modified Richardson constant value, on the other hand, was calculated as 22.06 A cm⁻² K⁻² (80–160 K) and 13.167 A cm⁻² K⁻² (180–300 K). These values are higher than the theoretical value for n-GaAs, which is 8.16 A cm⁻² K⁻². This difference may stem from intense inhomogeneity at the Ti/n-GaAs interface.     

Comparative study of electrical properties of Au/n-Si (MS) and Au/Si3N4/n-Si (MIS) Schottky diodes

In this paper, the electrical parameters of Au/n-Si (MS) and Au/Si₃N₄/n-Si (MIS) Schottky diodes are obtained from the forward bias current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements at room temperature. Experimental results show that the rectifying ratios of MS and MIS diode at ± 5 V are found to be 1.25×10³ and 1.27×10⁴, respectively. The main electrical parameters of MS and MIS diode, such as the zero-bias barrier height (Φ _Bo) and ideality factor (n) are calculated to be 0.51 eV (I-V), 0.53 eV (C-V), and 4.43, and 0.65 eV (I-V), 0.70 eV (C-V), and 3.44, respectively. Also, the energy density distribution profile of the interface states (N_ss) is obtained from the forward bias I-V. In addition, the values of series resistance (R_s) for the two diodes are calculated from Cheung's method and Ohm's law.     

Investigation of diode parameters using I-V and C-V characteristics of In/SiO2/p-Si (MIS) Schottky diodes

A study on interface states density distribution and characteristic parameters of the In/SiO₂/p-Si (MIS) capacitor has been made. The thickness of the SiO₂ film obtained from the measurement of the corrected capacitance in the strong accumulation region for MIS Schottky diodes was 220 Å. The diode parameters from the forward bias I-V characteristics such as ideality factor, series resistance and barrier heights were found to be 1.75, 106-112 Ω and 0.592 eV, respectively. The energy distribution of the interface state density D_it was determined from the forward bias I-V characteristics by taking into account the bias dependence of the effective barrier height. The interface state density obtained using the I-V characteristics had an exponential growth, with bias towards the top of the valance band, from 9.44×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² in 0.329-E_v eV to 1.11×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² in 0.527-E_v eV at room temperature. Furthermore, the values of interface state density D_it obtained by the Hill-Coleman method from the C-V characteristics range from 52.9×10¹³ to 1.11×10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² at a frequency range of 30kHz-1 MHz. These values of D_it and R_s were responsible for the non-ideal behaviour of I-V and C-V characteristics.     

Effect of anode area on the sensing mechanism of vertical GaN Schottky barrier diode temperature sensor

Effect of anode area on temperature sensing ability is investigated for a vertical GaN Schottky-barrier-diode sensor. The current-voltage-temperature characteristics are comparable to each other for Schottky barrier diodes with different anode areas, excepting the series resistance. In the sub-threshold region, the contribution of series resistance on the sensitivity can be ignored due to the relatively small current. The sensitivity is dominated by the current density. A large anode area is helpful for enhancing the sensitivity at the same current level. In the fully turn-on region, the contribution of series resistance dominates the sensitivity. Unfortunately, a large series resistance degrades the temperature error and linearity, implying that a larger anode area will help to decrease the series resistance and to improve the sensing ability.     

Current-conduction mechanisms in Au/n-CdTe Schottky solar cells in the wide temperature range

The current-conduction mechanisms in Au/n-CdTe Schottky solar cells have been investigated by considering the series resistance (R_s) effect in the temperature range 120–380 K. The obtained values of main electrical parameters such as zero-bias barrier height (Φ_bo), ideality factor (n) and R_s were found strongly function of temperature. While the Φ_bo increases, the n decreases with the increasing temperature. Such behavior can be explained on the basis of the thermionic emission (TE) theory with the Gaussian distribution (GD) of the barrier height (BH) being related to inhomogeneities at the metal/semiconductor (M/S) interface. The results show that the conduction mechanism in Au/n-CdTe Schottky solar cells can be successfully explained on the basis of the TE mechanism with a GD of the BHs. In addition, the capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics of Au/n-CdTe solar cells have been investigated at room temperature and 1 MHz.     

Design,fabrication and characterization of a Schottky diode on an AlGaAs/GaAs HEMT structure for on-chip RF power detection

A Schottky diode was designed and fabricated on an n-AlGaAs/GaAs high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) structure for RF power detection. The processing steps used in the fabrication were the conventional steps used in standard GaAs processing. Current–voltage measurements showed that the devices had rectifying properties with a barrier height of 0.5289–0.5468 eV. The fabricated Schottky diodes detected RF signals well and their cut-off frequencies up to 20 GHz were estimated in direct injection experiments. To achieve a high cut-off frequency, a smaller Schottky contact area is required. The feasibility of direct integration with the planar dipole antenna via a coplanar waveguide transmission line without insertion of matching circuits was discussed. A higher cut-off frequency can also be achieved by reducing the length of the coplanar waveguide transmission line. These preliminary results represent a breakthrough as regards direct on-chip integration technology, towards the realization of a ubiquitous network society.     

Design of vertical diamond Schottky barrier diode with junction terminal extension structure by using the n-Ga2O3/p-diamond heterojunction

A novel junction terminal extension structure is proposed for vertical diamond Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) by using an n-Ga₂O₃/p-diamond heterojunction. The depletion region of the heterojunction suppresses part of the forward current conduction path, which slightly increases the on-resistance. On the other hand, the reverse breakdown voltage is enhanced obviously because of attenuated electric field crowding. By optimizing the doping concentration, length, and depth of n-Ga₂O₃, the trade-off between on-resistance and breakdown voltage with a high Baliga figure of merit (FOM) value is realized through Silvaco technology computer-aided design simulation. In addition, the effect of the work functions of the Schottky electrodes is evaluated. The results are beneficial to realizing a high-performance vertical diamond SBD.