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2 Schottky Contact
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Contact
is defined as the potential difference between the Fermi energy of the metal and the
band edge where the majority carrier reside. From Fig. 3.2 one finds that for n-type semiconductors the
barrier height is obtained from
(3.40)
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where
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For p-type material, the barrier height is given by the difference between the valence band edge and the
Fermi energy in the metal,
(3.41)
A metal-semiconductor junction will therefore form a barrier for electrons and holes
In addition, we define the work function difference as the difference between the work function of the
metal and that of the semiconductor. For n-type material it reads
(3.42)
(3.43)
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The measured barrier height for selected metal/4H-SiC junction is listed in Table 3.1 [109,110]. These
experimental barrier heights depend on the surface polarity of SiC (Si- and C-face), and often differ from
the ones calculated using (3.40) and (3.41).
Table 3.1: Work function of selected metals and their
measured and calculated barrier height on n-type 4H-SiC.
Al
Ti
Zn
Mo
Cu
Ni
Au
Pt
1.12
1.69 1.81
(C-face)
1.25
1.87 2.07
(calculated) 1.01 1.06 1.06 1.28 1.33 1.38 1.63 1.68 2.08
This is due to the detailed behavior of the metal-semiconductor interface. The ideal metal-semiconductor
theory assumes that both materials are pure and that there is no interaction between the two materials nor
any interfacial layer. Chemical reactions between the metal and the semiconductor alter the barrier height
as do interface states at the surface of the semiconductor and interfacial layers. Furthermore, one finds the
barrier heights reported in the literature to vary widely due to different surface cleaning procedures.
The current density is calculated according to the thermionic emission condition [111] neglecting tunneling
currents:
(3.45)
(3.46)
and
by
(3.47)
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(3.48)
where
(3.49)
is known as the effective Richardson constant. It is dependent on the effective mass and has a theoretical
value of 146 and 72
for n-type 4H- and 6H-SiC, respectively [108].
(3.50)
(3.51)
Note that the expressions (3.45) and (3.46) are equivalent to the most commonly used expressions [111]
(3.52)
(3.53)
and
are similar to the ones which apply for the Ohmic contact, i.e. (3.36) and (3.37), or
respectively (3.38).
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Previous: 3.1.6.1 Ohmic Contact Up: 3.1.6 Metal-Semiconductor Contacts Next: 3.1.6.3 Polysilicon
Contact
T. Ayalew: SiC Semiconductor Devices Technology, Modeling, and Simulation
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