X-ray photoemission determination of the Schottky barrier height of metal contacts to n–GaN and p–GaN

Abstract

Synchrotron radiation-based x-ray photoemission spectroscopy was used to study the surface Fermi level position within the band gap for thin metal overlayers of Au, Al, Ni, Ti, Pt, and Pd on n–GaN and p–GaN. Nonequilibrium effects were taken into account by measuring the Fermi edge of the metal overlayer. There are two different behaviors observed for the six metals studied. For Au, Ti, and Pt, the surface Fermi level lies about 0.5-eV higher in the gap for n-type than for p-type GaN. For Ni, Al, and Pd, the surface Fermi level position is independent of doping, but varies from one metal to the other. Results for Ni, Pd, and Al fit a modified Schottky–Mott theory, while Au, Ti, and Pt demonstrate a more complex behavior. Atomic force microscopy was used along with photoemission to investigate the growth mode of each metal on the GaN surface.