Electrical Characteristics of Co/n-Si Schottky Barrier Diodes Using I – V and C – V Measurements

Abstract

Electrical characteristics of Co/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes are analysed by current-voltage (I – V) and capacitance-voltage (C – V) techniques at room temperature. The electronic parameters such as ideality factor, barrier height and average series resistance are determined. The barrier height 0.76eV obtained from the C – V measurements is higher than that of the value 0.70eV obtained from the I – V measurements. The series resistance RS and the ideality factor n are determined from the d ln(I)/dV plot and are found to be 193.62Ω, and 1.34, respectively. The barrier height and the RS value are calculated from the H(I) – I plot and are found to be 0.71 eV and 205.95Ω. Furthermore, the energy distribution of the interface state density is determined from the forward bias I – V characteristics by taking into account the bias dependence of the effective barrier height. The interface state density Nss ranges from 6.484 × 1011 cm−2eV−1 in (EC – 0.446) eV to 2.801 × 1010 cm−2eV−1 in (EC – 0.631) eV, of the Co/n-Si Schottky barrier diode. The results show the presence of a thin interfacial layer between the metal and the semiconductor.