Ohmic contact

An ohmic contact is a non-rectifying electrical junction: a junction between two conductors that has a linear current–voltage (I-
V) curve as with Ohm's law. Low resistance ohmic contacts are used to allow charge to flow easily in both directions between the
two conductors, without blocking due to rectification or excess power dissipation due to voltage thresholds.

By contrast, a junction or contact that does not demonstrate a linear I-V curve is called non-ohmic. Non-ohmic contacts come in a
number of forms (p–n junction, Schottky barrier, rectifying heterojunction, breakdown junction, etc.).

Generally the term "ohmic contact" implicitly refers to an ohmic contact of a metal to a semiconductor, where achieving ohmic
contact resistance is possible but requires careful technique. Metal–metal ohmic contacts are relatively simpler to make, by
ensuring direct contact between the metals without intervening layers of insulating contamination, excessive roughness or
oxidation; various techniques are used to create ohmic metal-metal junctions (soldering, welding, crimping, deposition,
electroplating, etc.). This article focuses on metal–semiconductor ohmic contacts.

Stable contacts at semiconductor interfaces, with low contact resistance and linear I-V behavior, are critical for the performance
and reliability of semiconductor devices, and their preparation and characterization are major efforts in circuit fabrication. Poorly
prepared junctions to semiconductors can easily show rectifying behaviour by causing depletion of the semiconductor near the
junction, rendering the device useless by blocking the flow of charge between those devices and the external circuitry. Ohmic
contacts to semiconductors are typically constructed by depositing thin metal films of a carefully chosen composition, possibly
followed by annealing to alter the semiconductor–metal bond.

Contents
Physics of formation of metal–semiconductor ohmic contacts
Preparation and characterization of ohmic contacts
Technologically important kinds of contacts
Significance
References
See also

Physics of formation of metal–semiconductor ohmic contacts

Both ohmic contacts and Schottky barriers are dependent on the Schottky barrier height, which sets the threshold for the excess
energy an electron requires to pass from the semiconductor to the metal. For the junction to admit electrons easily in both
directions (ohmic contact), the barrier height must be small in at least some parts of the junction surface. To form an excellent
ohmic contact (low resistance), the barrier height should be small everywhere and furthermore the interface should not reflect
electrons.

The Schottky barrier height between a metal and semiconductor is naively predicted by the Schottky-Mott rule to be proportional
to the difference of the metal-vacuum work function and the semiconductor-vacuum electron affinity. In practice, most metal-
semiconductor interfaces do not follow this rule to the predicted degree. Instead, the chemical termination of the semiconductor
crystal against a metal creates electron states within its band gap. The nature of these metal-induced gap states and their
occupation by electrons tends to pin the center of the band gap to the Fermi level, an effect known as Fermi level pinning. Thus
the heights of the Schottky barriers in metal-semiconductor contacts often show little dependence on the value of the
semiconductor or metal work functions, in stark contrast to the Schottky-Mott rule.[1] Different semiconductors exhibit this Fermi
level pinning to different degrees, but a technological consequence is that high quality (low resistance) ohmic contacts are usually
difficult to form in important semiconductors such as silicon and gallium arsenide.

The Schottky-Mott rule is not entirely incorrect since, in practice, metals with high work functions form the best contacts to p-
type semiconductors, while those with low work functions form the best contacts to n-type semiconductors. Unfortunately
experiments have shown that the predictive power of the model doesn't extend much beyond this statement. Under realistic
conditions, contact metals may react with semiconductor surfaces to form a compound with new electronic properties. A
contamination layer at the interface may effectively widen the barrier. The surface of the semiconductor may reconstruct leading
to a new electronic state. The dependence of contact resistance on the details of the interfacial chemistry is what makes the
reproducible fabrication of ohmic contacts such a manufacturing challenge.

Preparation and characterization of ohmic contacts

The fabrication of the ohmic contacts is a much-studied part of materials engineering that nonetheless remains something of an
art. The reproducible, reliable fabrication of contacts relies on extreme cleanliness of the semiconductor surface. Since a native
oxide rapidly forms on the surface of silicon, for example, the performance of a contact can depend sensitively on the details of
preparation. Often the contact region is heavily doped to ensure the type of contact wanted. As a rule, ohmic contacts on
semiconductors form more easily when the semiconductor is highly doped nearby the junction; a high doping narrows the
depletion region at the interface and allow electrons to flow in both directions easily at any bias by tunneling through the barrier.

The fundamental steps in contact fabrication are semiconductor surface cleaning, contact metal deposition, patterning and
annealing. Surface cleaning may be performed by sputter-etching, chemical etching, reactive gas etching or ion milling. For
example, the native oxide of silicon may be removed with a hydrofluoric acid dip, while GaAs is more typically cleaned by a
bromine-methanol dip. After cleaning, metals are deposited via sputter deposition, evaporation or chemical vapor deposition
(CVD). Sputtering is a faster and more convenient method of metal deposition than evaporation but the ion bombardment from
the plasma may induce surface states or even invert the charge carrier type at the surface. For this reason the gentler but still rapid
CVD is increasingly preferred. Patterning of contacts is accomplished with standard photolithographic methods such as lift-off,
where contact metal is deposited through holes in a photoresist layer that is later dissolved away. Post-deposition annealing of
contacts is useful for relieving stress as well as for inducing any desirable reactions between the metal and the semiconductor.

Because deposited metals can themselves oxidise in ambient conditions, to the detriment of the contacts' electrical properties, it is
common to form ohmic contacts with layered structures. The bottom layer, in contact with the semiconductor, is chosen for its
ability to induce ohmic behaviour. The top layer is chosen for its low reactivity. Optionally, a three-layer structure may be used.
Where this is the case, the middle layer serves as a diffusion barrier, preventing the metals from mixing during any annealing
process.

The measurement of contact resistance is most simply performed using a four-point probe although for more accurate
determination, use of the transmission line method is typical.

Technologically important kinds of contacts

Modern ohmic contacts to silicon such as titanium-tungsten disilicide are usually silicides made by CVD. Contacts are often
made by depositing the transition metal and forming the silicide by annealing with the result that the silicide may be non-
stoichiometric. Silicide contacts can also be deposited by direct sputtering of the compound or by ion implantation of the
transition metal followed by annealing. Aluminum is another important contact metal for silicon which can be used with either
the n-type or p-type semiconductor. As with other reactive metals, Al contributes to contact formation by consuming the oxygen
in the native oxide. Silicides have largely replaced Al in part because the more refractory materials are less prone to diffuse into
unintended areas especially during subsequent high-temperature processing.

Formation of contacts to compound semiconductors is considerably more difficult than with silicon. For example, GaAs surfaces
tend to lose arsenic and the trend towards As loss can be considerably exacerbated by the deposition of metal. In addition, the
volatility of As limits the amount of post-deposition annealing that GaAs devices will tolerate. One solution for GaAs and other
compound semiconductors is to deposit a low-bandgap alloy contact layer as opposed to a heavily doped layer. For example,
GaAs itself has a smaller bandgap than AlGaAs and so a layer of GaAs near its surface can promote ohmic behavior. In general
the technology of ohmic contacts for III-V and II-VI semiconductors is much less developed than for Si.

Material Contact materials

Si Al, Al-Si, TiSi2, TiN, W, MoSi2, PtSi, CoSi2, WSi2

Ge In, AuGa, AuSb

GaAs AuGe (http://www.siliconfareast.com/ohmic_table.htm), PdGe, PdSi, Ti/Pt/Au
GaN Ti/Al/Ni/Au, Pd/Au
InSb In
ZnO InSnO2, Al

CuIn1−xGaxSe2 Mo, InSnO2

HgCdTe In
C (diamond) Ti/Au,Mo/Au

Transparent or semi-transparent contacts are necessary for active matrix LCD displays, optoelectronic devices such as laser
diodes and photovoltaics. The most popular choice is indium tin oxide, a metal that is formed by reactive sputtering of an In-Sn
target in an oxide atmosphere.

Significance
The RC time constant associated with contact resistance can limit the frequency response of devices. The charging and
discharging of the leads resistance is a major cause of power dissipation in high clock rate digital electronics. Contact resistance
causes power dissipation via Joule heating in low frequency and analog circuits (for example, solar cells) made from less
common semiconductors. The establishment of a contact fabrication methodology is a critical part of the technological
development of any new semiconductor. Electromigration and delamination at contacts are also a limitation on the lifetime of
electronic devices.

References
1. "Barrier Height Correlations and Systematics" (http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/physics/tung/Schottky/systemat
ics.htm).

Sze, S.M. (1981). Physics of Semiconductor Devices. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0-471-05661-4. Discussion
of theory plus device implications.
Zangwill, Andrew (1988). Physics at Surfaces. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-34752-5.
Approaches contacts from point of view of surface states and reconstruction.

See also
 Journal of the American Vacuum Society (https://web.archive.org/web/20060207032647/http://www.avs.org/literat
ure.aspx), Thin Solid Films (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/issn/00406090) and Journal of the Electrochemical
Society (http://www.electrochem.org/publications/jes/journal.htm) are journals that publish current research on
ohmic contacts.

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