Analysis of Schottky barriers to ultrathin strained Si

Abstract

We evaluated the Schottky barrier height between a metal and strained ultrathin silicon using a simple thermionic emission model combined with a self-consistent solution of Schrödinger’s and Poisson’s equations near the metal/semiconductor interface. Three “Fermi level pinning” models and two published deformation potential parameter sets yielded different results. We show that both strain and silicon thickness substantially affect the Schottky barrier height, although whether the height was increased or decreased depended on the model for Fermi level pinning at the metal/semiconductor interface.