The determination of interface state energy distribution of the H-terminated Zn/p-type Si Schottky diodes with high series resistance by the admittance spectroscopy

Analysis of Zn/p-Si Schottky diodes (SDs) with high resistivity has been given by admittance spectroscopy. The importance of the series resistance in the determination of energy distribution of interface states and especially their relaxation time in the SDs with high resistivity has been considered. The effect of the series resistance on capacitance-conductance/frequency characteristics has been given by comparing experimental data with theoretical data. The interface state density N_ss from the admittance spectroscopy ranges from 1.0×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in 0.720-E_v eV to 2.03×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in 0.420-E_v eV. Furthermore, the relaxation time ranges from 4.20×10⁻⁵ s in (0.420-E_v) eV to 3.20×10⁻⁴ s in (0.720-E_v) eV. It has been seen that the interface state density has a very small distribution range (1.0-2.03×10¹² cm⁻² eV⁻¹) that is ascribed to the predominant termination with hydrogen of the silicon surface after HF treatment.     

Effect of an organic compound (Methyl Red) interfacial layer on the calculation of characteristic parameters of an Al/Methyl Red/p-Si sandwich Schottky barrier diode

An Al/Methyl Red/p-Si sandwich Schottky barrier diode (SBD) has been fabricated by adding a solution of the organic compound Methyl Red in chloroform onto a p-Si substrate, and then evaporating the solvent. Current-voltage (I-V) measurements of the Al/Methyl Red/p-Si sandwich SBD have been carried out at room temperature and in the dark. The Al/Methyl Red/p-Si sandwich SBD demonstrated rectifying behavior. Barrier height (BH) and ideality factor values of 0.855 eV and 1.19, respectively, for this device have been determined from the forward-bias I-V characteristics. The Al/Methyl Red/p-Si sandwich SBD showed non-ideal I-V behavior with the value of ideality factor greater than unity. The energy distribution of the interface state density determined from I-V characteristics increases exponentially with bias from 3.68 × 10¹² cm^− 2 eV^− 1 at (0.81 − E_v) eV to 9.99 × 10¹³ cm^− 2 eV^− 1 at (0.69 − E_v) eV.     

Influence of tetramethylammonium hydroxide treatment on the electrical characteristics of Ni/Au/GaN Schottky barrier diode

The effect of tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) treatment on the electrical properties of Ni/Au/GaN Schottky diodes have been investigated by current–voltage (I–V) and capacitance–voltage (C–V) techniques. The barrier heights and ideality factors measured from I–V characteristics are found to be 0.70 eV and 1.32 for without TMAH treatment, and 0.78 eV and 1.14 for with TMAH treatment, respectively. Cheung method is used to measure the series resistance and barrier height of the Schottky diodes, and the barrier height consistency is checked using the Norde method. The magnitude of interface state density for the diodes without and with TMAH treatment are varied from 7.45 × 10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² to 6.09 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻² and 4.03 × 10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² to 1.79 × 10¹² eV⁻¹ cm⁻² in the below the conduction band from E_C-0.19 eV to E_C-0.63 eV and E_C-0.22 eV to E_C-0.73 eV. Based on the results, the TMAH treatment effectively removes of surface oxide (Ga_xO_y) layer, formed due to the incorporation of the residual oxygen with Ga atom at the GaN surface during the plasma etching. The decrease in interface state density at the Ni/Au/GaN interface could be the reason for the improvement in the electrical properties.     

Electrical characteristics of an organic thin copolymer/p-Si Schottky barrier diode

We have fabricated a poly(aniline-3-methyl thiophene) organic thin material on p-Si substrate by placing a solution of copolymer in acetonitrile on top of a p-Si substrate and then evaporating the solvent. The electrical and interface state density properties of the poly(aniline-3-methyl thiophene) copolymer/p-Si/Al diode have been investigated through methods using current-voltage (I-V), Cheung's, and a modified Norde's function. Good agreement was observed with the values of barrier height as obtained from all of these methods. The diode shows a non-ideal I-V behavior with an ideality factor greater than unity, which could be ascribed to the interfacial layer, interface states and series resistance. The interface state density of diode was determined using the forward-bias I-V characteristic technique at room temperature, and it decreases exponentially with bias from 1.39 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in (0.06 − E_v) eV to 4.86 × 10¹⁵ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ in (0.51 − E_v) eV.     

Capacitance and conductance-frequency characteristics of Au-Sb/p-GaSe:Gd Schottky barrier diode

The Schottky barrier height (SBH) values have been obtained from the reverse bias capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of Au-Sb/p-GaSe:Gd Schottky barrier diode (SBD) in the temperature range of 180-320 K. The forward bias capacitance-frequency (C-f) and conductance-frequency (G-f) measurements of Au-Sb/p-GaSe:Gd SBD have been carried out from 0 to 1.00 V with steps of 0.05 V, whereby the energy distribution of the interface states and their relaxation time have been determined from these characteristics. It has been seen that there is a good agreement between the experimental and theoretical C-f and G-f values. Also, the capacitance values obtained from C-f measurements have shown almost a plateau up to a certain value of frequency, then, have decreased. It has been seen that the interface state density has a very small density distribution range (6.02 × 10¹⁰-6.80 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻² eV⁻¹) in the energy range of (0.21−E_v)-(1.21−E_v) eV with bias from the midgap towards the top of the valence band. The interface state density values calculated for Au-Sb/p-GaSe:Gd SBD are rather low than those given in the literature.     

Space-charge-limited current analysis in amorphous InSe thin films

The study of space-charge-limited currents (SCLC) in amorphous InSe thin films is presented. The temperature-dependent current–voltage (J–V) measurements were carried out for TO/a-InSe/Au sandwich structures in the range of 200–320 K. For all samples, ohmic behavior was observed up to an electric field strength of about 2×10⁵ V cm^–1. From the temperature dependence of conductivity data, the position of the thermal equilibrium Fermi level E _fo is determined as 250 meV above the valence band E _v. At higher electric field strength values in the SCLC regions, the proportionality constant of voltage changes is between 2 and 2.9 with temperature. The analysis of J–V characteristics using the SCLC method and analytical approach for the determination of density of states (DOS) in the energy range of 190–250 meV shows that DOS changes between 3.8×10¹⁷–1.7×10¹⁸ eV^–1cm^–3 with energy. The energy distribution of DOS is temperature independent indicating that the SCLC in these amorphous films is related to the bulk, not to the surface layer between the contact and the film.     

Variable—Range hopping in Fe<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-Bi<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>3</Subscript>-K<Subscript>2</Subscript>B<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>7</Subscript> glasses

The dc conductivity of the glasses in the Fe₂O₃-Bi₂O₃-K₂B₄O₇ system was studied at temperatures between 223 and 393 K. At temperatures from 300 to 223 K, T^–1/4 (T is temperature) dependence of the conductivity was found, however, both Mott variable-range hopping and Greaves intermediate range hopping models are found to be applicable. Mott and Greaves parameters analysis gave the density of states at Fermi level N (E_F) = 3.13 × 10²⁰–21.01 × 10²⁰ and 1.93 × 10²¹–16.39 × 10²¹ cm^–3eV^–1 at 240 K, respectively. The variable-range hopping conduction occurred in the temperature range T = 300–223 K, since W_D was found to be large (W_D = 0.08–0.14 eV for these glasses) and dominated the conduction at T < 300 K.     

Electrical and optical properties of r.f.-sputtered amorphous V2O5-CaO-MoO3 films

Amorphous films of the V₂O₅-CaO-MoO₃ system are fabricated by r.f.-sputtering and the d.c. conductivity and optical properties are studied. The conductivity of 1200–1400 nm thick amorphous V₂O₅-CaO-MoO₃ films with different film compositions ranges from 4.7 × 10^–4 to 1.1 S cm^–1 at 458 K. The films are n-type semiconducting. The conduction of the films is attributed to adiabatic small polaron hopping and is primarily due to hopping between V⁴⁺ and V⁵⁺ ions. The films are optically transparent in the visible range. The optical band gap energy is evaluated to be between 2.90 and 2.39 eV. The Urbach tail analysis gives the width of localized states between 0.40 and 0.58 eV. A feasibility study reveals the films to be applicable as transparent film thermistors.     

Analysis of surface states and series resistance in Au/n-Si Schottky diodes with insulator layer using current-voltage and admittance-voltage characteristics

In order to good interpret the experimentally observed Au/n-Si (metal-semiconductor) Schottky diodes with thin insulator layer (18 Å) parameters such as the zero-bias barrier height (Φ_bo), ideality factor (n), series resistance (R_s) and surface states have been investigated using current-voltage (I-V), capacitance-frequency (C-f) and conductance-frequency (G-f) techniques. The forward and reverse bias I-V characteristics of Au/n-Si (MS) Schottky diode were measured at room temperature. In addition, C-f and G-f characteristics were measured in the frequency range of 1 kHz-1 MHz. The higher values of C and G at low frequencies were attributed to the insulator layer and surface states. Under intermediate forward bias, the semi-logarithmic Ln (I)-V plot shows a good linear region. From this region, the slope and the intercept of this plot on the current axis allow to determine the ideality factor (n), the zero-barrier height (Φ_bo) and the saturation current (I_S) evaluated to 2.878, 0.652 and 3.61 × 10⁻⁷ A, respectively. The diode shows non-ideal I-V behavior with ideality factor greater than unity. This behavior can be attributed to the interfacial insulator layer, the surface states, series resistance and the formation barrier inhomogeneity at metal-semiconductor interface. From the C-f and G-f characteristics, the energy distribution of surface states (N_ss) and their relaxation time (τ) have been determined in the energy range of (E_c − 0.493E_v)-(E_c − 0.610) eV taking into account the forward bias I-V data. The values of N_ss and τ change from 9.35 × 10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² to 2.73 × 10¹³ eV⁻¹ cm⁻² and 1.75 × 10⁻⁵ s to 4.50 × 10⁻⁴ s, respectively.     

Schottky barrier height enhancement on n-In0.53Ga0.47As by (NH4)2S x surface treatment

(NH₄)₂S _x Surface treatment was found to increase the barrier height (_Bn) for Au/In_0.53Ga_0.47As Schottky junctions from 0.26 eV to 0.58 eV at 300 K as determined from Richardson plots. The ideality factorn thus decreased from 2.7 to 1.6 and the reverse saturation current densityJ ₀ from 9.4 Acm^–2 to 3.4×10^–5A cm^–2. The values of the effective Richardson constant were also evaluated. The chemical state of In_0.53Ga_0.47As surfaces before and after (NH₄)₂S _x modification, examined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), indicated bond formation of S with In, Ga and As.     

High frequency characteristics of tin oxide thin films on Si

High frequency characteristics of tin oxide (SnO₂) thin films were studied. SnO₂ thin films have been successfully grown on n-type Si (111) substrates by using a spray deposition technique. The capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G/ω-V) characteristics of the metal-oxide-semiconductor (Au/SnO₂/n-Si) Schottky diodes were investigated in the high frequency range from 300 kHz to 5 MHz. It has been shown that the interface state density, D_it, ranges from 2.44 × 10¹³ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ at 300 kHz to 0.57 × 10¹³ cm⁻² eV⁻¹ at 5 MHz and exponentially decreases with increasing frequency. The C-V and G/ω-V characteristics confirm that the interface state density and series resistance of the diode are important parameters that strongly influence the electrical parameters exhibited by the metal-oxide-semiconductor structure.     

Ionic transport studies of the glassy silver vanadomolybdate system

Ionic conductivity of the Ag₂O-MoO₃-V₂0₅ system has been studied over a wide range of frequency, temperature and composition. A narrower glass forming region has been found in comparison to the corresponding Ag₂O-MoO₃-P₂O₅ and Ag₂O-B₂O₃-P₂O₅ systems. The highest conductivity at room temperature, _rt, = 3.21 × 10^–6–1 cm^–1 (d.c.) with an activation energy,E _act, of 0.466 eV, was observed for the glass former's ratio of unity. Further, it reached a maximum value of 2.2 × 10^–2¨-1 cm^–1 withE _act = 0.153 eV when the oxide-base glass was dissolved with Agl. D.c. conductivity, hopping rate and relaxation time in the present system have been found to be characterized by the same activation energy.     

The crystallization and electrical properties of lead-based ferroelectric thin films for uncooled pyroelectric infrared detector

Epitaxially grown and polycrystalline PT, PLT and PZT thin films with thickness from 1 to 2 m have been prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates by means of the modified sol–gel spin-coating technique. The ferroelectric thin films have good crystallization behavior, excellent dielectric and pyroelectric properties. The pyroelectric coefficients of PT and PLT thin films are 2.9×10^–8 C/cm² k and (3.37–5.25)×10^–8 C/cm² k, respectively. The figures of merit for voltage responsivity of PT and PLT thin films (F _I ) are 0.60×10^–10 Ccm/J and (0.79–1.13)×10^–8 Ccm/J, respectively. The figures of merit for current responsivity of these films are 9.0×10^–9 Ccm/J and (10.5–16.0)×10^–9 Ccm/J, and the figures of merit for detectivity of these films are 0.74×10^–8 Ccm/J and (0.79–1.13)×10^–8 Ccm/J, respectively.     

Electrical properties of In doped CdS thin films

Indium doped polycrystalline cadmium sulphide CdS:In thin films have been prepared by the spray pyrolysis technique on glass substrates in an enclosed dome. The different scattering mechanisms such as lattice, impurity and grain boundary scattering for CdS:In films are observed at low temperature, in the range of 303 to 120 K. The experimentally determined mobilities due to these scatterings are well interpreted with those of theoretically calculated mobilities. The d.c. conductivity for CdS:In films has also been studied in the same temperature region. The Mott variable range hopping conduction process followed below the temperature of 150 K. The Mott parameters such as N(E _F ), R, W and are found to be 1.26 × 10¹⁹ eV^–1cm^–3, 9.8 × 10^–-7cm, 0.02 eV^–1 and 2.38 × 10⁶cm^–1, respectively from the conductivity data.     

The effect of thallium addition on differential thermal analysis of glassy arsenous selenide. Part 2

The effect of thallium on the phenomena accompanying the thermally induced structural changes in various glasses of the chalcogenide system (As₂Se₃)_1-x Tl _x , withx = 0.0 to 0.7, has been investigated using DTA measurements. The crystallization kinetic parameters of the glasses (e.g. crystallization mode,n, rate of reaction,K, and activation energy,E) have been evaluated applying a single-scan technique, and compared with those obtained from the shift in the exothermic peaks (Kissinger model). The kinetic parameter results indicate a discontinuity near thallium concentration of 2.25×10²¹ atoms cm^–3 (x = 0.25) where there is a peak in bothE(3 eV) andn (2.7) and a corresponding dip inK(6.7×10^–3).     

Analysis of structural defect annealing in copper-base alloys exhibiting the shape memory effect

The process of martensite stabilization is investigated by resistometric method and positron annihilation spectroscopy in Cu-Al-Zn and Cu-Al-Ni alloys exhibiting the shape memory effect. A strong stabilization of martensite observed in Cu-Al-Zn alloys is explained by diffusion of divacancies and monovacancies formed during quenching with the following values of the Arrhenius relation E _2V ^M = (0.69 ± 0.02) eV, K ₀₄ = 6.4 × 10^8.0±0.1s^–1 and E _1V ^M = (0.84 ± 0.02) eV, K ₀₃ = 6 × 10^9.00±0.15s^–1, respectively. It was found that the energy of vacancy formation in Cu-8.5Al-14.5Zn(%wt.) alloy was 0.56 eV. The proposed model has been confirmed by applying the positron annihilation technique. In Cu-Al-Ni alloys the disappearance of quenched-in vacancies is described by one recovery process only with the diffusion energy of monovacancy 0.74 eV.     

Current–Voltage Characteristics of EuGa2S4<Co> Single Crystals

The current–voltage characteristics of EuGa₂S₄ single crystals were measured from 80 to 300 K with the aim of elucidating the mechanism of electrical transport. The results, interpreted as evidence of space-charge-limited currents with an exponential distribution of trap energies, were used to determine the trap depth (E _t = 0.30 eV), trap concentration (N _t = 4 × 10¹³ cm^–3), Fermi energy (E _F = 0.51 eV), equilibrium carrier concentration (p ₀ = 9 × 10⁹ cm^–3), contact potential difference ( = 0.43 eV), and shift of the Fermi level (E _F = 0.09 eV).     

Transport properties of InSe x flash evaporated thin films

Thin films of InSe _x were obtained by vacuum evaporation of polycrystalline materials onto substrates at moderate temperatures,T _s. Electrical properties of films grown from different stoichiometries of flash source materials are reported in this work. The temperature dependence of the conductivities shows two conduction regimes. The low temperature regime exhibits aT ^–1/4 conductivity dependence which fits well, using the Mott model, with an average localized states density value ofN(E _F ) 8×10¹⁸cm^–3eV^–1. Hall measurements as a function of temperature show that the predominant conduction mechanism is scattering by grain boundaries in polycystalline films.     

Preparation and characterization of in1−xGaxAsyP1−y epilayers by liquid-phase epitaxy

In_1–x Ga _x As _y P_1–y epilayers with three different solid compositions of ln_0.73Ga_0.27As_0.60P_1.40, In_0.59Ga_0.41As_0.87P_0.13 and ln_0.53Ga_0.47As were grown on (1 0 0) InP substrate at 623° C by the step cooling technique of liquid-phase epitaxy. From the optical transmission measurements, the corresponding wavelengths of the InGaAsP epilayers were 1.30, 1.55 and 1.69 m, respectively, which are in good agreement with those obtained from the calculations using Vegard's law. The full widths at half maximum of the photoluminescent spectra at 14 K of these layers were as low as 18.6, 22.5 and 7.9meV, respectively. The electron mobility of the InGaAsP epilayers is a function of the solid composition with the ln_0.53Ga_0.47As epilayer having the highest electron mobility. The mobility and concentration of this layer are 8,873cm²V^–1 sec^–1, 9.7×10¹⁵cm^–3 and 22,900 cm²V^–1 sec^–1, 8.5×10¹⁵cm^–3 at 300 and 77 K, respectively. The compensation ratio is between 2 and 5.     

Optical absorption and photoconductivity in gamma-irradiated zinc selenide crystals

The possibility of radiation-induced enhancement of photoconductivity (σ_ph) in crystalline zinc selenide (ZnSe) has been studied. The electron concentration in the initial ZnSe:O crystal was N _Eg = 1.26 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ as determined from the optical density of the sample at E _g = 2.58 eV. The irradiation of the ZnSe:O crystal by gamma-photons from ⁶⁰Co source to a dose of 10⁶ Gy leads to the creation of five new energy levels (Γ_6v, 5.76 eV; L _1.3v, 4.85 eV; Zn_i, 3.34 eV; O_Se, 3.13 eV; X, 2.72 eV), a decrease in the electron concentration to N _Eg = 0.63 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³, and a twofold increase in σ_ph. The doping with Te to 0.2 wt % also creates the L _1.3v level and increases N _Eg to 2.02 × 10¹⁶ cm⁻³ and σ_ph to 2.01 × 10⁻¹⁰ Ω⁻¹. The irradiation of Te-doped crystals leads to the creation of an additional resonant level (Zn_i, 3.34 eV) and a two-fold increase in σ_ph. An increase in the content of Te to 0.5 wt % results in a shift of the Zn_i level to 3.39 eV and a growth in the conductivity to σ_ph = 7.64 × 10⁻¹⁰ Ω⁻¹. However, the gamma-irradiation of these crystals leads to decomposition of this center and to a decrease in the photoconductivity.