Fabrication and electrical characterization of nickel/p-Si Schottky diode at low temperature

In this study the current–voltage and capacitance–voltage characteristics of metal semiconductor Ni/p-Si(100) based Schottky diode on p- type silicon measured over a wide temperature range (60–300 K) have been studied on the basis of thermionic emission diffusion mechanism and the assumption of a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights. The parameters ideality factor, barrier height and series resistance are determined from the forward bias current–voltage characteristics. The barrier height for Ni/p-Si(100) Schottky diode found to vary between 0.513 eV and 0.205 eV, and the ideality factor between 2.34 and 8.88 on decreasing temperature 300–60 K. A plot involving the use of ?_b versus 1/T data is used to gather evidence for the occurrence of a Gaussian distribution of barrier height and obtain the value of standard deviation. The observed temperature dependences of barrier height and ideality factor and non-linear activation energy plot are attributed to the Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at the metal-semiconductor contact. The barrier height of Ni/p-Si(100) Schottky diode was also measured over wide temperature from the capacitance-voltage study.