Numerical modeling of hot electrons in n-GaAs Schottky-barrierdiodes

The drift-diffusion model, with the inclusion of the energy balance equations, is used to model DC properties of n-GaAs Schottky diodes at high forward bias voltages. The boundary condition for the energy balance equation at the Schottky contact is based on the assumption that the energy flow across the interface is equal to the energy carried by the electrons. The effects of thermionic-field emission and image force lowering are modeled with a field-dependent barrier height. The incorporation of these two effects resulted in very good agreement between simulated and measured I-V characteristics for diodes with different doping concentrations of the epitaxial layer