A Stable and Efficient Pt/n-Type Ge Schottky Contact That Uses Low-Cost Carbon Paste Interlayers

Pei-Te Lin,Jia-Wei Chang,Wei-Zhi Chen,Zhong-Kai Li,Chun-Ying Huang,Jui-Hsuan Huang,Wen-Jeng Hsueh,Syuan-Ruei Chang,Yu-Zhen Ji

doi:10.3390/cryst11030259

Pei-Te Lin, Jia-Wei Chang + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11030259

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Journal: Crystals	Publication Date: Mar 6, 2021
Citations: 7	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: National Taiwan University, National Chi Nan University

Abstract

Ge-based Schottky diodes find applications in high-speed devices. However, Fermi-level pinning is a major issue for the development of Ge-based diodes. This study fabricates a Pt/carbon paste (CP)/Ge Schottky diode using low-cost CP as an interlayer. The Schottky barrier height (ΦB) is 0.65 eV for Pt/CP/n-Ge, which is a higher value than the value of 0.57 eV for conventional Pt/n-Ge. This demonstrates that the CP interlayer has a significant effect. The relevant junction mechanisms are illustrated using feasible energy level band diagrams. This strategy results in greater stability and enables a device to operate for more than 500 h under ambient conditions. This method realizes a highly stable Schottky contact for n-type Ge, which is an essential element of Ge-based high-speed electronics.

Highlights

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is still the most common form of semiconductor device fabrication, which is capable of manufacturing sub-10 nm nodes using a traditional Si metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistor (MOSFET) [1,2]
A good Schottky contact is an essential block for electronic circuits and devices
This study reports the fabrication of Pt/carbon paste (CP)/n-Ge Schottky diodes

Summary

Introduction

Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) technology is still the most common form of semiconductor device fabrication, which is capable of manufacturing sub-10 nm nodes using a traditional Si metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistor (MOSFET) [1,2]. A good Schottky contact is an essential block for electronic circuits and devices. Ge-based Schottky diodes are affected by strong Fermi-level pinning [6,7]. Many studies try to modulate the Schottky barrier heights of metal/Ge junctions by inserting a thin insulator as an interfacial layer to minimize the effect of Fermi-level pinning [8,9,10]. Organic semiconductors that are used as the interfacial layer modify interface electronic states so the Schottky barrier height of the metal/Ge junction is decreased [11,12,13]. Polymer poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly (styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT/PSS) has been used for Schottky diodes as an interlayer, because it features high conductivity, solution processing capability, and is low-cost [14].

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