First-principles study on the electronic transport properties of M/SiC Schottky junctions (M=Ag,Au and Pd)

In this work, we investigate the electronic transport properties of M/SiC Schottky junctions (M=Ag, Au and Pd). The results show that the band structures of hydrogenated zigzag SiC nanoribbons (ZSiCNRs) and hydrogenated armchair SiC nanoribbons (ASiCNRs) are almost unaffected by their width changes. When the hydrogenated 7-ASiCNR is directly connected to the Ag, Au and Pd electrode, the transmission spectra of three metal-semiconductor junctions show that the Fermi level of metal is pinned to a fixed position in the semiconductor band gap of hydrogenated 7-ASiCNR. The nearly same rectifying current-voltage characteristics are found in three metal-semiconductor junctions. The average rectification ratios of three M/SiC Schottky junctions are all in the neighborhood of 10⁶. In other word, the M/SiC Schottky junction has remarkable application prospect as the candidate for Schottky Diode.