p+-n--n+-type power diode with crystalline/nanocrystalline Si mosaic electrodes

Using p⁺-type crystalline Si with n⁺-type nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) and n⁺-type crystalline Si with p⁺-type nc-Si mosaic structures as electrodes, a type of power diode was prepared with epitaxial technique and plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method. Firstly, the basic p⁺-n^--n⁺-type Si diode was fabricated by epitaxially growing p⁺- and n⁺-type layers on two sides of a lightly doped n^--type Si wafer respectively. Secondly, heavily phosphorus-doped Si film was deposited with PECVD on the lithography mask etched p⁺-type Si side of the basic device to form a component with mosaic anode. Thirdly, heavily boron-doped Si film was deposited on the etched n⁺-type Si side of the second device to form a diode with mosaic anode and mosaic cathode. The images of high resolution transmission electronic microscope and patterns of X-ray diffraction reveal nanocrystallization in the phosphorus- and boron-deposited films. Electrical measurements such as capacitance-voltage relation, current-voltage feature and reverse recovery waveform were carried out to clarify the performance of prepared devices. The important roles of (n^-)Si/(p⁺)nc-Si and (n^-)Si/(n⁺)nc-Si junctions in the static and dynamic conduction processes in operating diodes were investigated. The performance of mosaic devices was compared to that of a basic one.     

An isolated Al-poly Si-(p)Si-(n+)Si switching device

A new MISS switching device structure was designed and fabricated, which consists of Al/poly Si/p/n⁺/p-Si layers and is isolated by diffusing n-well to the buried n⁺ layer.The switching voltage increases with increasing junction area of the poly-Si junction and the n⁺p junction, due to surface recombination current in the emitter-base junction, respectively. The holding voltage is kept nearly constant of 0.9 V for the 886 Å poly Si devices.     

Postgrowth Annealing of CdTe Layers Grown on Si Substrates by Metalorganic Vapor-Phase Epitaxy

Annealing conditions of CdTe layers grown on Si substrates by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy were studied. Typically, 3-μm-thick n-type (211) CdTe layers were annealed for 60 s in flowing hydrogen at atmospheric pressure by covering their surfaces with bulk CdTe wafers. At annealing temperatures above 700°C, improvement of crystal quality was confirmed from full-width at half-maximum values of double-crystal rocking-curve measurements and x-ray diffraction measurements. Photoluminescence measurements revealed no deterioration of electrical properties in the annealed n-CdTe layers. Furthermore, annealing at 900°C improved the performance of radiation detectors with structure of p-like CdTe/n-CdTe/n ⁺-Si substrate.     

Investigation of energy levels of Er-impurity centers in Si by the method of ballistic electron emission spectroscopy

The method of ballistic electron emission spectroscopy is used for the first time to study the energy spectrum of Er-impurity complexes in Si. The features are observed in the ballistic electron spectra of mesa diodes based on p ⁺-n ⁺ Si structures with a thin (∼30 nm) p ⁺-Si:Er surface layer in the region of ballistic-electron energies eV _t lower than the conduction-band-edge energy E _c in this layer. They are associated with the tunnel injection of ballistic electrons from the probe of the scanning tunnel microscope to the deep donor levels of the Er-impurity complexes in the p ⁺-Si:Er layer with subsequent thermal excitation into the conduction band and the diffusion to the p ⁺-n ⁺ junction and the direct tunneling in it. To verify this assumption, the ballistic-electron transport was simulated in the system of the Pt probe, native-oxide layer SiO₂-p ⁺-Si:Er-n ⁺, and Si substrate. By approximating the experimental ballistic-electron spectra with the modeling spectra, the ground-state energy of the Er complex in Si was determined: E _d ≈ E _c − 0.27 eV. The indicated value is consistent with the data published previously and obtained from the measurements of the temperature dependence of the free-carrier concentration in Si:Er layers.     

Ultrashallow p +-n junctions in Si(111): Electron-beam diagnostics of the surface region

Ultrashallow p ⁺-n junctions fabricated in Si(111) are investigated by low-and intermediateenergy electron-beam probing of the surface region in order to determine how the crystallographic orientation of the silicon films affects the mechanisms for nonequilibrium diffusion of boron. A comparative study is made of p ⁺-n junctions made on both (111) and (100) silicon with regard to how the irradiation-induced conductivity depends on the energy of the primary electron beam, and also its distribution with area. Using this method, it is possible to determine how the probability of an electron-hole pair being separated by the electric field of the Si(111) and Si(100) p ⁺-n junctions varies with depth into the crystal, which experiments show is different, depending on whether diffusive motion of impurities is dominated by the kick-out or dissociative-vacancy mechanisms. It was found that for boron in silicon the kick-out type of diffusion mechanism is strongly enhanced in the [111] crystallographic direction, whereas diffusion in the [100] direction is primarily driven by vacancy mechanisms. It is shown that collection of nonequilibrium carriers in the p ⁺-n junction field is strongly enhanced when the diffusion profile consists of certain combinations of longitudinal and transverse quantum wells. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 33, 58–63 (January 1999)     

Electrical characteristics of laser-contacted diodes

We have fabricated p⁺-n and Schottky diodes with contacts made of laser-formed palladium-silicide. The electrical characteristics of these diodes are presented. The reverse currents and breakdown voltages are comparable to conventionally contacted p⁺-n diodes. The barrier height of laser-formed Schottky diodes agrees well with published values for Pd₂Si. The promising results point out the potential applications of contact formation by laser irradiation in device manufacture.     

Thermal stability of Ni silicide films on heavily doped n and p Si substrates

Electrical and structural properties of Ni silicide films formed at various temperatures ranged from 200 °C to 950 °C on both heavily doped n⁺ and p⁺ Si substrates were studied. It was found that surface morphology as well as the sheet resistance properties of the Ni silicide films formed on n⁺ and p⁺ Si substrates at the temperatures higher than 600 °C were very different. Agglomerations of Ni silicide films on n⁺ Si substrates begin to occur at around 600 °C while there is no agglomeration observed in Ni silicide films on p⁺ Si substrates up to a forming temperature of 700 °C. It was also found that the phase transition temperature from NiSi phase to NiSi₂ phase depend on substrate types; 900 °C for NiSi film on n⁺ Si substrate and 750 °C for NiSi film on p⁺ Si substrate, respectively. Our results show that the agglomeration is, especially, important factor in the process temperature dependency of the sheet resistance of Ni silicides formed on n⁺ Si substrates.     

Electroluminescence at a wavelength of 1.54 μm in Si:Er/Si structures consisting of a number of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p-n</Emphasis> junctions

A method of connecting several p ⁺-n junctions in the same Si:Er/Si structure is demonstrated; this method makes it possible to increase the electroluminescence intensity at a wavelength of 1.54 μm. The structures have been grown by sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy.     

Optimization of the deposition and annealing conditions of fluorine-doped indium oxide films for silicon solar cells

Fluorine-doped indium oxide (IFO) films are deposited onto (pp ⁺)Si and (n ⁺ nn ⁺)Si structures made of single-crystal silicon by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. The effect of the IFO deposition time and annealing time in an argon atmosphere with methanol vapor on the IFO chemical composition, the photovoltage and fill factor of the Illumination-U _oc curves of IFO/(pp ⁺)Si structures, and the sheet resistance of IFO/(n ⁺ nn ⁺)Si structures, correlating with the IFO/(n ⁺)Si contact resistance, is studied. The obtained features are explained by modification of the properties of the SiO _x transition layer at the IFO/Si interface during deposition and annealing. Analysis of the results made it possible to optimize the fabrication conditions of solar cells based on IFO/(pp ⁺)Si heterostructures and to increase their efficiency from 17% to a record 17.8%.     

High-Performance M/LWIR Dual-Band HgCdTe/Si Focal-Plane Arrays

Mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) grown on large-area silicon (Si) substrates allows for larger array formats and potentially reduced focal-plane array (FPA) cost compared with smaller, more expensive cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) substrates. In this work, the use of HgCdTe/Si for mid- wavelength/long-wavelength infrared (M/LWIR) dual-band FPAs is evaluated for tactical applications. A number of M/LWIR dual-band HgCdTe triple-layer n-P-n heterojunction device structures were grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) on 100-mm (211)Si substrates. Wafers exhibited low macrodefect densities (< 300 cm^?2). Die from these wafers were mated to dual-band readout integrated circuits to produce FPAs. The measured 81-K cutoff wavelengths were 5.1 μm for band 1 (MWIR) and 9.6 μm for band 2 (LWIR). The FPAs exhibited high pixel operability in each band with noise-equivalent differential temperature operability of 99.98% for the MWIR band and 98.7% for the LWIR band at 81 K. The results from this series are compared with M/LWIR FPAs from 2009 to address possible methods for improvement. Results obtained in this work suggest that MBE growth defects and dislocations present in devices are not the limiting factor for detector operability, with regards to infrared detection for tactical applications.     

Effects of the Physical Properties of Bismate Frits on Contact Formation Between Ag Electrodes and Si Emitter in Si Solar Cells

To improve the performance of Si solar cells after firing, it is necessary to control the thickness of the glass layers between the Ag and Si, and the formation of Ag when it recrystallizes into the Si emitter, both of which decisively influence the performance of the cell. In this study, the effect of the physical properties of the frits on the contacts between Ag and Si is verified. Interfaces of Ag electrodes/glass layers/Ag recrystallized into n ⁺ emitter are formed when using high-fluidity frits. On the other hand, as the viscous flow of the frits slows as the temperature increases, an interface structure formed of Ag/thin glass/SiN _x layers results, with the formation of Ag nanoprecipitates in the glass layers. Our results suggest that the viscous behavior of frits under increasing temperatures leads to the formation of distinct interfaces between Ag electrodes and Si.     

Electronic properties of Si/Si-Ge Alloy/Si(100) heterostructures formed by ECR Ar plasma CVD without substrate heating

By using our low-energy Ar plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (CVD) at a substrate temperature below 100 °C during plasma exposure without substrate heating, modulation of valence band structures and infrared photoluminescence can be observed by change of strain in a Si/strained Si_0.4Ge_0.6/Si(100) heterostructure. For the strained Si_0.5Ge_0.5 film, Hall mobility at room temperature was confirmed to be as high as 660 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹ with a carrier concentration of 1.3×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ for n-type carrier, although the carrier origin was unclear. Moreover, good rectifying characteristics were obtained for a p⁺Si/nSi_0.5Ge_0.5 heterojunction diode. This indicates that the strained Si-Ge alloy and Si films and their heterostructures epitaxially grown by our low-energy Ar plasma enhanced CVD without substrate heating can be applicable effectively for various semiconductor devices utilizing high carrier mobility, built-in potential by doping and band engineering.     

Barrier effect of e-beam evaporated tungsten interlayer in Al/W/PtSi metallization layer

The reaction characteristic of Al/PtSi and the effectiveness of W diffusion barrier interlayer in the Al/W/PtSi metallization system are examined. Ideal I-V characteristic and low constant end resistance are obtained in PtSi/n^-Si and PtSi/n⁺Si contact system. However, Al/PtSi/n^-Si and Al/PtSi/n⁺P Si can not stand the sintering for 30 min at 350° C and 400° C, respectively. A new phase, PtAl2, is observed after sintering at 350° C for 15 min. The W diffusion barrier layer is proved to enhance the stability of Al/PtSi. Tungsten layers of 500Å and 1000Å are effective up to 450° C annealing for 1 hr and 500° C for 4 hrs, respectively. A new phase, W₁₂Al, is observed after sintering at 550° C for 15 min.     

Finite metal-sheet-resistance in contact resistivity measurements: Application to Si/TiN contacts

The standard transmission line model cannot be applied to evaluate the contact resistivity of thin TiN layers on highly doped p⁺ and n⁺ substrates because the finite sheet resistance of the TiN must be accounted for. We present two ways to include this effect using existing analytical models. The results are shown to agree with measurements where the effect of the finite sheet resistance of TiN is eliminated with a metallic overlayer. With the help of these evaluation techniques, it is shown that the contact resistivity of TiN changes in opposite ways for p⁺ and n⁺Si after vacuum annealing at 600°C for 15 min. This result is consistent with an increase of the barrier height φ_Bn of the contact by ?0.1 V to near midgap value.     

Voltage dependence of the differential capacitance of a p +-n junction

The dependences of the differential capacitance and current of a p ⁺-n junction with a uniformly doped n region on the voltage in the junction region are calculated. The p ⁺-n junction capacitance controls the charge change in the junction region taking into account a change in the electric field of the quasi-neutral n region and a change in its bipolar drift mobility with increasing excess charge-carrier concentration. It is shown that the change in the sign of the p ⁺-n junction capacitance with increasing injection level is caused by a decrease in the bipolar drift mobility as the electron-hole pair concentration in the n region increases. It is shown that the p ⁺-n junction capacitance decreases with increasing reverse voltage and tends to a constant positive value.     

Amorphous metal-semiconductor contacts for high temperature electronics—II Thermal stability of Schottky barrier characteristics

We report results on the thermal stability of the Schottky barrier formed by each of two amorphous metal alloys (from the NiNb and TaIr systems) on Si and GaAs. We have found the barrier height to be stable to within 0.05 eV after treatment for 2.5 hr at 500°C in the case of TaIr/n/n⁺ GaAs, and within 0.06 eV after treatment for 40 hr at 350°C in the case of TaIr/n/n⁺ Si.     

On the forward current-voltage characteristics of p+-n-n+ (n+-p-p+) epitaxial diodes

The forward-biased current-voltage characteristics of p⁺-n-n⁺ and n⁺-p-p⁺ epitaxial diodes are derived theoretically. Effects of the energy-gap shrinkage, the high-low junction built-in voltage, the high-level injection, and the minority-carrier life time on the forward-biased current-voltage characteristics are included. Good agreements between the theoretically derived results and the experimental data of Dutton et al. are obtained. The developed theory predicts that the leakage of the high-low junction is dominated by the recombination of minority carriers in the highly doped substrate, not by the recombination of minority carriers in the high-low space charge region, which is opposite to the previous prediction of Dutton et al.     

Capacitance voltage characterization of poly SiSiO2Si structures

The high frequency C-V characteristics of poly SiSiO₂Si capacitors have been studied. It is shown that the poly SiSiO₂Si capacitor C-V characteristics are significantly different from the corresponding metal-SiO₂Si capacitor due to field penetration into the poly Si layer. A comparison of the theoretical and measured C-V characteristics gives an estimate of the surface state charge density at the poly SiSiO₂ interface and indicates that the surface potential behavior of this interface is trap and surface state dominated up to poly silicon impurity concentrations of approximately 10¹⁷ cm^?3.     

Influence of the electron-hole equilibrium shift on transition-metal diffusion in GaAs

Diffusion of impurities of transition metals Fe, Cu, and Cr in heavily doped p ⁺-, n ⁺-, and intrinsic (at diffusion temperature) GaAs is studied. A technique in which impurity diffuses into GaAs-based structures with heavily doped layers (p ⁺-n or n ⁺-n) was used. It is shown that the impurity diffusivity values in p ⁺-GaAs and n ⁺-GaAs are significantly higher and lower, respectively, than for i-GaAs. The results obtained are discussed taking into account the effect of the electron-hole equilibrium shift in semiconductors on the diffusion of impurities migrating according to the dissociative mechanism. The interstitial-component concentration for Fe, Cu, and Cr impurities in GaAs was determined at the diffusion temperature.     

High-voltage planar junction with a field-limiting ring

A twodimensional Poisson equation is solved as part of a program to improve breakdown characteristics of a planar p-n junction by using a field limiting ring. The influences of n^? concentration and n^? layer width of p⁺-n^?-n⁺ diode are investigated. Higher n^? concentration and smaller n^? width make optimum distance between anode and field limiting ring smaller. Breakdown voltages predicted by optimising method reported agree well with the experimental results.