60Co γ irradiation effects on the current–voltage ( I– V) characteristics of Al/SiO 2/p-Si (MIS) Schottky diodes

Abstract

It is well known that the exposure of any semiconductor surfaces to the 60Co γ-ray irradiation causes electrically active defects. To investigate the effect of γ-ray irradiation dose on the electrical characteristics of metal–insulator–semiconductor (MIS) Schottky diodes, the fabricated devices were exposed to γ radiation at a dose of 2.12 kGy/h. The total dose range was from 0 to 450 kGy at room temperature. The density of interface states N ss as a function of E ss− E v, the values of series resistance R s and the bias dependence of the effective barrier height Φ e for each dose were obtained from the forward bias I– V characteristics. Experimental results show that the γ-irradiation gives rise to an increase in the zero bias barrier height Φ BO, as the ideality factor n, R s and N ss decreases with increasing radiation dose.