Nondestructive imaging of buried interfaces in SiC and GaN Schottky contacts using scanning internal photoemission microscopy

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We demonstrate a nondestructive characterization of buried interfaces in metal/wide-bandgap semiconductor contacts by using scanning internal photoemission microscopy. For Ni/n-SiC contacts annealed at temperatures above 400 °C, a reduction of the Schottky barrier height owing to partial interfacial reaction was visualized. In Au/Ni/n-GaN contacts, upon annealing at 400 °C, thermal degradation from a scratch on the dot was observed. Forward current–voltage curves were reproduced by lowering the Schottky barrier height and the area of the reacted regions by using this method. The present imaging method exploits its nondestructive highly sensitive extinction for characterizing the contacts formed on wide-gap materials.