Electronic Devices

Metal-Semiconductor junctions
prof. ing. Gianluca Giustolisi
Universit ` a degli studi di Catania
Academic Year 2012/2013
(ver. January 16, 2013)
The Schottky barrier diode
The Schottky barrier diode
A Schottky barrier contact is made between a metal and a
semiconductor
In general the semiconductor is n-type
The vacuum level is used as reference level (E
vac
)

m
and
s
are the metal and the semiconductor work
functions, respectively (
m
>
s
)
is the electron afnity of the semiconductor
Work functions and Electron afnities
Work function
Element
m
Ag, silver 4.26
Al, aluminium 4.28
Au, gold 5.10
Cr, chromium 4.50
Mo, molybdenum 4.60
Ni, nickel 5.15
Pd, palladium 5.12
Pt, platinum 5.65
Ti, titanium 4.33
W, tungsten 4.55
Electron afnity
Element
Ge, germanium 4.13
Si, silicon 4.01
GaAs, gallium arsenide 4.07
AlAs, aluminium arsenide 3.50
The Schottky barrier diode
Joining the two materials, electrons will ow into the metal
and a space charge region is created in the semiconductor
The Fermi level becomes a constant through the system in
thermal equilibrium
Two barriers (
B0
and V
bi
) are created
W is the space charge region width
The Schottky barrier

B0
is the Schottky barrier that represents the potential
barrier seen by electrons in the metal trying to move into
the semiconductor

B0
=
m

The barrier is independent of the semiconductor doping

concentration
The built-in potential
V
bi
is the built-in potential barrier, that is, the barrier seen
by electrons in the semiconductor conduction band trying
to move into the metal
V
bi
=
m

s
=
B0

n
The barrier depends on the semiconductor doping
concentration as
n
= V
t
ln
_
N
c
N
d
_
=
E
g
2q
V
t
ln
_
N
d
n
i
_
Reverse bias
Applying V
R
to the semiconductor with respect to the
metal, the semiconductor-to-metal barrier increases while

B0
remains constant
The current is constant and is supported by the small
number of electrons that ows across
B0
Forward bias
Applying V
a
to the metal with respect to the semiconductor,
the semiconductor-to-metal barrier decreases
Electrons can more easily ow from the semiconductor to
the metal
Note that the current is supported by majority carriers
Ideal junction properties
The electrostatic eld in the space charge region is due to
the semiconductor charge density made of positive ions
dE
dx
=
(x)

s
=
qN
d

s
for 0 x x
n
Integrating the Poisson equation, we have
E =
_
qN
d

s
dx =
qN
d
x

s
+ C
1
The electric eld is zero in x = x
n
, then
E =
qN
d

s
(x x
n
)
In the metal, a negative surface charge exists at the
metal-semiconductor junction
(x) = qN
d
x
n
(x)
Ideal junction properties
The space charge region width is
W = x
n
=
_
2
s
qN
d
(V
bi
+ V
R
)
_
1/2
A junction capacitance exists
C

=
dQ

dV
R
= qN
d
dx
n
dV
R
=
_
q
s
N
d
2(V
bi
+ V
R
)
_
1/2
As for pn junctions we have
_
1
C

_
2
=
2(V
bi
+ V
R
)
q
s
N
d
which can be used to determine V
bi
, N
d
and, after few
manipulations,
B0
Ideal junction properties
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
In vacuum, an electron q placed at a distance x from a
metal layer will create an electric eld
The eld lines shall be perpendicular to the metal surface
The electron behaves as if no metal exists and a positive
charge +q is placed at the same distance from the metal
surface in x (image charge)
In our case, a similar model exists by using the electron
effective mass and the semiconductor dielectric constant
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
Due to the image charge, the force acting on the electron
q placed in x is
F
ic
=
q
2
4
s
(2x)
2
= qE
The electric eld in x is
E
ic
=
q
16
s
x
2
And the electric potential results

ic
(x) =
_
x
+
E() d =
=
_
+
x
q
16
s

2
d =
=
q
16
s
_
1

_
+
x
=
q
16
s
x
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
Given the potential

ic
(x) =
q
16
s
x
the energy set by the image charge is
E
ic
(x) = q
ic
(x) =
q
2
16
s
x
This contribution must be added to the energy set by the
ideal Schottky barrier theory
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
The energy set by the ideal Schottky barrier theory
decreases almost linearly in proximity of the
metal-semiconductor junction, hence
E
sb
(x) E
sb
(0) +
dE
sb
dx

x=0
x = E
sb
(0) (qE
sb
)x
being E
sb
the (positive and constant) electric eld
generated by the Schottky barrier
1
at x = 0
The overall energy is
E(x) = E
ic
(x) + E
sb
(x) = E
sb
(0)
q
2
16
s
x
qE
sb
x
1
Remember that the electric eld and the energy are related by
E(x) =
1
q
dE(x)
dx
which denes E
sb
=
1
q
dE
sb
dx

x=0
> 0
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
The overall energy E(x) = E
sb
(0)
q
2
16
s
x
qE
sb
x has a
maximum at
x
m
=
_
q
16
s
E
sb
which results
E
m
= E
sb
(0) q
_
qE
sb
4
s
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Image-force-induced lowering of the potential barrier (Schottky effect)
The peak potential barrier is then lowered (Schottky effect)
With respect to the ideal case, the barrier lowering is set by
=
E
m
E
sb
(0)
q
=
_
qE
sb
4
s
The barrier height seen by electrons in the metal is now

Bn
=
B0

Nonideal effects on the barrier height

Effects of the surface states
Experimental measurements shows a monotonic relation
between the work function and the barrier height
However the relationship is not linear as expected

Bn
on GaAs
Metal
Bn
Au 0.87

Bn
on Si
Metal
Bn
Al 0.55
Au 0.81
Pt 0.89
W 0.68
Nonideal effects on the barrier height
Effects of the surface states
Surface states may greatly inuence the potential barrier
as well
Since the surface state density is not predictable with any
degree of certainty, the barrier height must be an
experimentally determined parameter
Current-Voltage relationship
Current-Voltage relationship
The current across a metal-semiconductor junction is
mainly due to majority carriers
Three different mechanisms exists
Drift/diffusion of carriers from the semiconductor into the
metal
Thermionic emission of carriers across the Schottky barrier
Quantum-mechanical tunneling through the barrier
Typically, only one current mechanism dominates
Drift/diffusion current
Electrons are pushed
from the semiconductor
to the metal thanks to a
combination of
drift/diffusion process
The process takes
place in the
semiconductor
depletion region [, x
d
],
with > 0 and 0
Actually, the depletion
region does not extend
up to the point x = 0
because of the
Schottky effect
Drift/diffusion current
Let us consider the total electron current
J
dd
= q
_

n
nE + D
n
dn
dx
_
= qD
n
_

n
V
t
d
dx
+
dn
dx
_
Let us multiply both members by exp
_

V
t
_
J
dd
e

V
t
= qD
n
_

n
V
t
e

V
t
d
dx
+ e

V
t
dn
dx
_
= qD
n
d
dx
_
ne

V
t
_
Let us integrate it over the depletion region [, x
d
]
J
dd
=
qD
n
_
ne

V
t
_
x
d
x=
_
x
d
x=
e

V
t
dx
=
qD
n
_
n(x
d
)e

(x
d
)
V
t
n()e

()
V
t
_
_
x
d
x=
e

V
t
dx
Drift/diffusion current
We set the reference potential at x
m
0, i.e., where E
c
has
the maximum, E
c
(x
m
). Hence (x
m
) = 0
In x = x
d
we have
n(x
d
) = N
d
= N
c
e

E
c
(x
d
)E
Fn
(x
d
)
kT
= N
c
e

Bn
V
bi
V
t
(x
d
) = V
bi
V
a
Hence we have
n(x
d
)e

(x
d
)
V
t
= N
c
e

Bn
V
bi
V
t
e

V
bi
V
a
V
t
= N
c
e

Bn
V
t
e
V
a
V
t
Drift/diffusion current
In x = we have
n() = N
c
e

E
c
()E
Fn
()
kT
() =
E
c
() E
c
(x
m
)
q
=
Bn

E
c
() E
Fm
q
Hence we have
n()e

()
V
t
= N
c
e
E
Fn
()E
c
()
kT
e
q
Bn
+E
c
()E
Fm
kT
= N
c
e

Bn
V
t
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
Drift/diffusion current
The total electron current is
J
dd
=
qD
n
_
n(x
d
)e

(x
d
)
V
t
n()e

()
V
t
_
_
x
d

V
t
dx
=
=
qD
n
N
c
e

Bn
V
t
_
e
V
a
V
t
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
_
_
x
d

V
t
dx
The integral
_
x
d

V
t
dx may be solved assuming that (x)
is the solution of the Poisson equation
d
2

dx
2
=
qN
d

s
, that is
(x) =
qN
d
2
s
(x x
d
)
2
+
qN
d
x
2
d
2
s
=
qN
d
x
2
d
2
s
_
1
_
1
x
x
d
_
2
_
Drift/diffusion current
Since (x
d
) =
qN
d
x
2
d
2
s
= V
bi
V
a
we have
(x) = (V
bi
V
a
)
_
1
_
1
x
x
d
_
2
_

2(V
bi
V
a
)
x
d
x
where the quadratic term has been neglected to simplify
the integral evaluation
Moreover, since
V
bi
V
a
=
E
max
x
d
2
we may write also
(x) = E
max
x
Drift/diffusion current
The integral
_
x
d

V
t
dx becomes
_
x
d

V
t
dx
_
x
d
0
e

E
max
V
t
x
dx =
V
t
E
max
_
1 e

E
max
x
d
V
t
_
=
=
V
t
E
max
_
1 e

2(V
bi
V
a
)
V
t
_

V
t
E
max
where we assumed 2(V
bi
V
a
) > 4V
t
and
E
max
=

2qN
d
(V
bi
V
a
)

s
The total electron current is
J
dd
= q
n
E
max
N
c
e

Bn
V
t
_
e
V
a
V
t
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
_
Drift/diffusion current
The overall current may be written in the form
J
dd
= J
dd
s
_
e
qV
a
kT
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
_
where, the saturation current is dened as
J
dd
s
= q
n
E
max
N
c
exp
_

q
B0
kT
_
exp
_
q
kT
_
Thermionic emission of carriers
Only electrons with an
energy larger than the
top of the barrier may
cross the barrier
Electrons in the metal
must cross the xed
barrier q
Bn
(current
J
ms
)
Electrons in the
semiconductor must
cross the variable
barrier q(V
bi
V
a
)
(current J
sm
)
J
n
= J
sm
J
ms
Thermionic emission of carriers
The thermionic current must be evaluated at x =
The ow coming from the semiconductor is made of
carriers having energy higher than the barrier, E
0
c
= E
c
|
x=0
J

sm
=
_

E=E
0
c
qv
x
dn =
_

E=E
0
c
qv
x
dn
dE
dE
The concentration of electrons between E and E + dE is
dn = g
c
(E)f
F
(E)dE
Thermionic emission of carriers
Considering that
g
c
(E) =
4(2m

n
)
3
2
h
3
_
E E

c
and f
F
(E) exp
_

E E

Fn
kT
_
where E

Fn
= E
Fn
() and E

c
= E
c
(), we may write
dn
dE
dE =
4(2m

n
)
3/2
h
3
_
E E

c
exp
_

E E

Fn
kT
_
dE
Thermionic emission of carriers
Assuming a parabolic conduction band (with constant m

n
),
we may relate the carrier energy, E, to its velocity v, so that
EE

c
=
1
2
m

n
v
2
; dE = m

n
vdv ;
_
E E

c
= v
_
m

n
2
The exponential term e

EE

Fn
kT
may be written as
e

EE

Fn
kT
= e

EE

c
kT
e

c
E

Fn
kT
= e

n
v
2
2kT
e

c
E

Fn
kT
Thermionic emission of carriers
The term
dn
dE
dE becomes
dn
dE
dE =
4(2m

n
)
3/2
h
3
v
_
m

n
2
e

n
v
2
2kT
e

c
E

Fn
kT
m

n
vdv
= 2(m

n
/h)
3
e

c
E

Fn
kT
e

n
v
2
2kT
4v
2
dv
Replacing v
2
= v
2
x
+ v
2
y
+ v
2
z
and observing that
4v
2
dv = dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
we have
J

sm
=
_
v
0x
v
x
=
_
+
v
y
=
_
+
v
z
=
_
qv
x
2
_
m

n
h
_
3
e

c
E

Fn
kT

e

n
v
2
x
2kT
e

n
v
2
y
2kT
e

n
v
2
z
2kT
_
dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
For v
y
and v
z
the integrals are extended over any velocity
in any verse (+ and signs)
Along the x-axis, only negative velocities are considered
A minimum velocity, v
0x
(i.e., energy) is required to
overcome the barrier
Thermionic emission of carriers
The term dn(v) = f (v)dv represents the number of
electrons in the innitesimal volume 4v
2
dv
The number of electrons in the innitesimal volume
dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
placed at a distance v from the center, i.e.,
dn(v
x
, v
y
, v
z
), is found dividing f (v)dv by the innitesimal
volume 4v
2
dv and multiplying the result by the
innitesimal volume dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
, that is
dn(v
x
, v
y
, v
z
) =
f (v)dv
4v
2
dv
dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
=
f (v)
4v
2
dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
Hence we may write
_
V
f (v) dv =
_
V
Z
_
V
Y
_
V
X
f (v)
4v
2
dv
x
dv
y
dv
z
where v
2
= v
2
x
+ v
2
y
+ v
2
z
Thermionic emission of carriers
Manipulating the terms we have
J

sm
= 2
_
m

n
h
_
3
e

c
E

Fn
kT
_
v
0x
v
x
=
qv
x
e

n
v
2
x
2kT
dv
x

_
+
v
y
=
e

n
v
2
y
2kT
dv
y

_
+
v
z
=
e

n
v
2
z
2kT
dv
z
Integrals over v
y
and v
z
may be solved considering that
_
+

x
2
2
dx =

2
hence we have
_
+

n
v
2
y
2kT
dv
y
=

kT
m

n
_
+

n
v
2
y
2kT
d
_
m

n
kT
v
y
=

2kT
m

n
Thermionic emission of carriers
The integral over v
x
becomes
_
v
0x

qv
x
e

n
v
2
x
2kT
dv
x
=
q
2
_
v
0x

n
v
2
x
2kT
dv
2
x
=
=
q
2
2kT
m

n
_
v
0x

n
v
2
x
2kT
d
m

n
2kT
v
2
x
=
= +
qkT
m

n
_
e

n
v
2
x
2kT
_
v
0x

=
qkT
m

n
e

n
v
2
0x
2kT
The term
1
2
m

n
v
2
ox
is the minimum kinetic energy required to
overcome the barrier and is equal to E
0
c
E

c
The integral over v
x
is
_
v
0x

qv
x
e

n
v
2
x
2kT
dv
x
=
qkT
m

n
exp
_

E
0
c
E

c
kT
_
Thermionic emission of carriers
Combining the terms we have
J

sm
= 2
_
m

n
h
_
3
e

c
E

Fn
kT

qkT
m

n
e

E
0
c
E

c
kT

2kT
m

n
=
=
4qm

n
k
2
h
3
T
2
e

E
0
c
E

Fn
kT
=
4qm

n
k
2
h
3
T
2
e

E
0
c
E
Fm
E

Fn
+E
Fm
kT
=
=
4qm

n
k
2
h
3
T
2
e

q
Bn
kT
e
E

Fn
E
Fm
kT
Thermionic emission of carriers
The current of electrons owing from the semiconductor is
J

sm
= A

T
2
e

q
Bn
kT
e
E

Fn
E
Fm
kT
where we have dened the effective Richardson constant
A

=
4qm

n
k
2
h
3
The current of electrons owing from the metal is constant
since the barrier height is almost constant
J

ms
is then equal to J

sm
for V
a
= 0 and E
Fn
= E
Fm
The overall current is then
J

= J

sm
J

ms
= A

T
2
e

q
Bn
kT
_
e
E

Fn
E
Fm
kT
1
_
Thermionic emission of carriers
The overall current may be written in the form
J

= J

s
_
e
E

Fn
E
Fm
kT
1
_
where, the saturation current is dened as
J

s
= A

T
2
exp
_

q
B0
kT
_
exp
_
q
kT
_
The term A

T
2
may be written as
A

T
2
=
4qm

n
k
2
T
2
h
3
= q

kT
2m

n
2
_
2m

n
kT
h
2
_3
2
= qv
R
N
c
being
v
R
=

kT
2m

n
the Richardson velocity
Current-Voltage relationship
We have found that
J
dd
= J
dd
s
_
e
qV
a
kT
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
_
J

= J

s
_
e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
1
_
Since J
n
= J
dd
= J

, setting = e
E
Fn
()E
Fm
kT
, we have
J
dd
s
_
e
qV
a
kT

_
= J

s
( 1)
Solving for yields
=
J
dd
s
e
qV
a
kT
+ J

s
J
dd
s
+ J

s
Substituting into J

, the nal current results

J
n
=
J
dd
s
J

s
J
dd
s
+ J

s
_
e
qV
a
kT
1
_
Current-Voltage relationship
Experimental and theoretical
reverse-bias currents in PtSi-Si
diode
Forward-bias current density J
F
versus V
a
for W-Si and W-GaAs
diodes
Metal-semiconductor ohmic contacts
Metal-semiconductor ohmic contacts
Contacts must be made between any semiconductor
device and the outside world
These contacts are made via ohmic contacts
They are non-rectifying metal-semiconductor contacts
We have two types of non-rectifying contacts
Ideal non-rectifying barrier
Tunneling barrier
A specic contact resistance is used to characterize ohmic
contacts
Ideal non-rectifying barriers
A metal and an n-type semiconductor with
m
<
s
form a
non-rectifying contact
To achieve thermal equilibrium electrons ows from the
metal to the semiconductor
The semiconductor surface becomes more n type
The excess electron charge in the semiconductor is
essentially a surface charge density
Electrons in the metal see a small barrier q
Bn
= q
n
Ideal non-rectifying barriers
When a positive voltage is applied to the metal, energy
bands in the semiconductor bend and electrons may easily
ow downhill into the metal
When a positive voltage is applied to the semiconductor,
electrons can easily ow over the barrier into the
semiconductor
This junction performs an ohmic contact
Ideal non-rectifying barriers
A metal and a p-type semiconductor with
m
>
s
form a
non-rectifying contact
To achieve thermal equilibrium electrons ows from the
valence band to the metal
The process increases the holes in the semiconductor
surface which becomes more p type
The excess hole charge in the semiconductor is essentially
a surface charge density
The barrier is now q
Bp
= q
p
Tunneling barrier
The space charge width in rectifying metal-semiconductor
contact is inversely proportional to the square root of the
semiconductor doping
x
d
=

2
s
V
bi
qN
d
As the doping concentration increases, the probability of
tunneling through the barrier increases
Tunneling barrier
Let us analyze the case of a particle entering a potential
barrier in x [0, L] with an energy, E, lower than the
potential energy, V(x)
The Schr odinger equation is
d
2
dx
2
(x)
2m

2
[V(x) E](x) = 0
If V(x) = V
0
= constant, the solution for a particle moving
along the positive axis takes the form
(x) = (x
0
)e
K(xx
0
)
with K =
_
2m

n
(V
0
E)

If V(x) does not change in the interval [x, x + dx], we may

write
(x + dx) = (x)e
K(x)dx
with K =
_
2m

n
[V(x) E]

Tunneling barrier
Manipulating the solution in [x, x + dx], we have
ln
_
(x + dx)
(x)
_
= K(x)dx
Expanding (x + dx) in Taylor series, we have
(x + dx) = (x) +
d
dx
dx
Substituting in the solution leads to
ln
_
1 +
1
(x)
d
dx
dx
_
= K(x)dx
Approximating ln(1 + x) x we have
1
(x)
d
dx
dx = K(x)dx
Tunneling barrier
Integrating from x = 0 to L
_
L
0
1
(x)
d
dx
dx =
_
(L)
(0)
d
(x)
= ln
_
(L)
(0)
_
=
_
L
0
K(x) dx
Which leads to the nal solution
(L) = (0) exp
_

_
L
0
K(x) dx
_
The transmission coefcient is
=
(L)

(L)
(0)

(0)
= exp
_
2
_
L
0
K(x) dx
_
Tunneling barrier
Assume the barrier has a triangular form of height q
Bn
and extension L
V(x)E = q
Bn
_
1
x
L
_
K(x) =
_
2m

n
q
Bn

_
1
x
L
The integral is
_
L
0
K(x) dx =
_
2m

n
q
Bn

_
L
0
_
1
x
L
dx =
2
3
L
_
2m

n
q
Bn

Tunneling barrier
The transmission coefcient results
= exp
_

4
3
L
_
2m

n
q
Bn

_
with L =

2
s
V
bi
qN
d
The tunneling current takes the form
J
T
= qv
R
n
where n is the density of available electrons and v
R
may be
assumed equal to the Richardson velocity
v
R
=

kT
2m

n
The tunneling probability is a strong function of the doping
concentration
Specic contact resistance
A gure of merit of ohmic contacts is the specic contact
resistance, R
c
This is dened as the reciprocal of the derivative of the
current density with respect to voltage at zero bias
R
c
=
_
J
V
_
1

V=0
cm
2
For a rectifying contact where the thermionic emission
dominates we have
J = A

T
2
exp
_

q
Bn
kT
__
exp
_
qV
kT
_
1
_
and
R
c
=
kT
q
exp
_
+
q
Bn
kT
_
A

T
2
Specic contact resistance
For a metal-semiconductor
junction with high impurity
doping concentration the
tunneling process will
dominate and the current
density is
J exp
_

1
_
N
d
_
The specic contact
resistance is
R
c
exp
_
+
1
_
N
d
_