The effect of temperature on the electrical characteristics of Ti/n-GaAs Schottky diodes

Abstract

Schottky diodes still attract researchers as they are used in various device applications. This study provides I–V characteristics of Ti/n-GaAs (80–300 K). Higher barrier height (ΦB0) values were obtained for higher temperatures, whereas the ideality factor exhibited the opposite behavior. This was associated with a barrier inhomogeneity at the Ti/GaAs interface, which has a Gaussian distribution (GD). The mean barrier height values calculated from the modified Richardson and ΦB0 - q/2 kT plots were found to be 0.584 eV and 0.575 eV in the temperature range of 80–160 K. They were found as 1.041 eV and 1.033 eV between 180 K and 300 K, respectively. The modified Richardson constant value, on the other hand, was calculated as 22.06 A cm−2 K−2 (80–160 K) and 13.167 A cm−2 K−2 (180–300 K). These values are higher than the theoretical value for n-GaAs, which is 8.16 A cm−2 K−2. This difference may stem from intense inhomogeneity at the Ti/n-GaAs interface.