Gaussian Distribution Of Barrier Heights Research Articles

InGaN based Schottky barrier solar cell: Study of the temperature dependence of electrical characteristics

The indium gallium nitride (InGaN) semiconductor alloy shows great promise for high-efficiency thin-film solar cells due to its intrinsic characteristics. However, there are major challenges in the development of high-quality p-doped and indium-rich InGaN layers to fabricate a pn or pin solar cell. This study focuses on the development of an alternative structure, not requiring p-doping, with a Schottky contact on n-type InGaN. The InGaN absorber was grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and its structural, morphological and optical properties studied. Structural analysis by X-ray diffraction showed the growth of single crystal layers without phase separation. Indium compositions which vary up to around 8.3 % were confirmed by transmission measurements. The formation of V-shaped pits was observed with increased indium composition at lower growth temperatures. Schottky diodes based on InGaN with platinum metallic contacts were fabricated and their current–voltage characteristics studied in detail as a function of temperature. This analysis of the conduction mechanisms in Schottky/InGaN devices permitted in particular the extraction of the diode parameters as a function of the temperature showing a high rectification with an ideality factor of 1.15 with reverse saturation current of 6.7×10−9A at room temperature for an indium composition of 5.52 %. In addition, the analysis revealed the presence of a dual Gaussian distribution of barrier heights in a specific temperature range. Finally, the incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the fabricated InGaN Schottky solar cells, measured using intensity-modulated photocurrent spectroscopy, reached a peak value of 51 %, which is among the highest published values for InGaN based solar cells.

Barrier Height, Ideality Factor and Role of Inhomogeneities at the AlGaN/GaN Interface in GaN Nanowire Wrap-Gate Transistor.

It is essential to understand the barrier height, ideality factor, and role of inhomogeneities at the metal/semiconductor interfaces in nanowires for the development of next generation nanoscale devices. Here, we investigate the drain current (Ids)-gate voltage (Vgs) characteristics of GaN nanowire wrap-gate transistors (WGTs) for various gate potentials in the wide temperature range of 130-310 K. An anomalous reduction in the experimental barrier height and rise in the ideality factor with reducing the temperature have been perceived. It is noteworthy that the variations in barrier height and ideality factor are attributed to the spatial barrier inhomogeneities at the AlGaN/GaN interface in the GaN nanowire WGTs by assuming a double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at 310-190 K (distribution 1) and 190-130 K (distribution 2). The standard deviation for distribution 2 is lower than that of distribution 1, which suggests that distribution 2 reflects more homogeneity at the AlGaN/GaN interface in the transistor's source/drain regions than distribution 1.

Investigation of temperature dependant current transport mechanism in Ag/In2O3/p-Si/Al heterojunction

Employing the pulsed laser ablation technique nano-crystalline thin films of Indium oxide (In2O3) are deposited successfully on boron doped silicon substrate. The structural and morphological parameters of the films are investigated by using X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscopic (AFM) spectroscopy, respectively. The deposited films are the crystalline nanostructures with (400) as preferred diffraction peak and grain size of 56.56 nm approximately. The computed roughness (Rq) of In2O3 film is 1.02 nm. The AFM analysis validated the deposition of homogeneous smooth In2O3 films with surface roughness of the order of nanometer. UV–vis spectroscopy was used to study the optical properties of the films. Greater than 80% transparency in visible region was exhibited by the films. The value of the optical band gap was found to be 3.89 eV. The electrical parameters dominating the mechanism of current transport in n-In2O3/p-Si heterojunction were explored by observing the temperature-dependent current–voltage (I–V) properties. In the temperature range of 80–300 K, the ideality factor and barrier height were found to be strongly temperature dependent. It was noticed that with the decrease in temperature there is increase in ideality factor whereas decrease in barrier height which confirm the interfacial imperfections and inhomogeniety in potential barrier height distributions. The temperature dependence of I–V data has revealed the existence of double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights with mean values of 0.85eV and 0.78eV with standard deviation of 0.014 V and 0.012 V respectively. The modified Richardson's plot gives the average barrier height and Richardson's coefficient as 0.86eV and 4.7 × 105 Am−2K−2 in the temperature range 300 K–180 K and 0.77eV and 5.2 × 105 Am−2K−2, respectively in the temperature range 160 K–80 K. The values of Richardson's constants are of the order of known theoretical value of 3.2 × 105 Am−2 K−2.

4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes as radiation detectors: A role of Schottky contact area

Large-area SiC Schottky barrier diodes can significantly improve the sensitivity in radiation detection due to the increased interacting SiC volume. In this work, we tested a large SiC detector with an area of 1 × 1 cm2. Extensive electrical characterization was performed at temperatures ranging from 150 K to 390 K, demonstrating the impact of barrier inhomogeneities on the electrical performance of the diode. Forward current-voltage (I-V) measurements of the diodes revealed two distinct regions caused by Schottky barrier inhomogeneity present throughout the entire temperature range. The barrier heights in the low- and high-current forward voltage regions were extracted from Richardson plots corrected for the Gaussian distribution of barrier heights, yielding values of 1.52 eV and 1.79 eV, respectively. Deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) revealed only one deep-level defect, Z1/2, with an activation energy for electron emission of 0.67 eV, which was assigned to the known carbon vacancy. The DLTS study showed no correlation between electrically active defects and barrier inhomogeneity. An excellent energy resolution of 3.2 % was measured using a large area 241Am radiation source, consistent with values for small area SiC detectors that exhibited no barrier height inhomogeneities. The impact of temperature on the alpha particle radiation response was determined within a temperature range of 200 K to 390 K.

Temperature-dependent Schottky diode behavior of Ni Schottky contacts to α-Ga2O3 film epitaxially grown on sapphire substrate

We fabricated Ni Schottky contacts on α-Ga2O3 epitaxial layers grown on a c-plane sapphire substrate and explored their current–voltage (I–V) characteristics dependence on temperature spanning over a wide temperature range of 100–425K. The Ni/α-Ga2O3 Schottky diode displayed excellent rectification, exhibiting a high barrier height of 1.39 eV, a low leakage current of the order 10−12 A, and a breakdown voltage of 215 V at room temperature. The reverse leakage current was confined within an order of magnitude over the entire measured temperature range, indicating the thermal stability of the diode. A large ideality factor of 1.20 attained at room temperature clearly indicates the diode behavior deviation from the ideal thermionic emission theory. The I–V characteristics revealed that the barrier height and ideality factor shows strong temperature dependence, indicating the existence of barrier inhomogeneity at the Schottky interface. An analysis of the barrier inhomogeneity using the thermionic emission with the assumption of a Gaussian barrier height distribution implies the prevailing double Gaussian barrier height distribution in the Ni/α-Ga2O3 Schottky diode with a transition at 250 K. The Richardson constant derived from the modified Richardson plot, evaluated by assuming the barrier height Gaussian distribution, was close to the theoretical Richardson constant of α-Ga2O3.

Inhomogeneous heterojunction performance of Zr/diamond Schottky diode with Gaussian distribution of barrier heights for high sensitivity temperature sensor

Herein, we demonstrated the fabrication and operation of vertical diamond Schottky barrier diode (SBD) as a high-performance temperature sensor. The current transport mechanism and temperature sensor properties of Zr/p-diamond SBD were comprehensively investigated with operating temperatures up to 448 K. At room temperature, Zr/p-diamond SBD exhibits outstanding performances with a high rectification ratio of 2.28 × 1010, a low specific on-resistance of 0.5 mΩ•cm2, a large Schottky barrier height (SBH) of 1.43 eV, a low ideality factor of 1.77, and an extremely low saturation current of 4.42 × 10−22 A. The enhanced-performance with a higher forward current and a lower reverse leakage current is observed to be across a wide temperature range from 323 to 448 K. Additionally, a significant improvement of rectifying current curve with a highest rectification ratio over 1012 is obtained at 423 K. The SBH increases whereas the ideality factor decreases with temperature increasing, indicating barrier inhomogeneities at Zr/p-diamond interface. The temperature-dependent electrical transport characteristics on spatially inhomogeneous Schottky contacts can be successfully described by potential fluctuations model. The extracted original value of Richardson constant (A*) is 0.0153 A/cm2•K2, which is much lesser than theoretical value of 96 A/cm2•K2. The discrepancy of A* value from theoretical value has been well explained by thermionic emission model with Gaussian distribution of barrier inhomogeneity. The values of mean SBH and A* extracted from modified Richardson plot depending on SBH inhomogeneity are 1.76 eV and 105.51 A/cm2•K2, respectively. With a Gaussian distribution take into account, the A* value is close to the theoretical value, and confirmed the existence of SBH inhomogeneity at Zr/p-diamond interface. Furthermore, for Zr/p-diamond SBD operating as a temperature sensor, the voltage drop across the diode decreases linearly with increasing temperature at a specific forward current level, contributing to a highest sensor sensitivity of 6.8 mV/K. The reported results in this work are among the best to date in diamond SBD temperature sensor. Although not optimized for temperature sensor, the high and thermally stable rectifying barriers make Zr/p-diamond SBD a strong candidates for high-performance diamond rectifying diode and temperature sensor.

Negative Schottky barrier height and surface inhomogeneity in n-silicon M–I–S structures

The alleviation effect on the Schottky barrier height (SBH) (ΦB) using ultrathin titanium dioxide and hafnium dioxide dielectrics in a single layer and a bilayer stack was demonstrated. ΦB in the Pt/n-Si contact was reduced from 0.53 to −0.058, 0.3, and −0.12 eV using 3 nm TiO2, 1 nm HfO2, and high-k/high-k bilayer insertion, respectively. A maximum of 122% reduction in ΦB was obtained using bilayer dielectric insertion, which is the highest ever reduction reported so far in a Schottky diode. This was achieved by effectively passivating the semiconductor surface states by HF cleaning followed by inserting an ultrathin film produced from the novel Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) technique. The Gaussian distribution (GD) of barrier heights all over the interface has been investigated for both Metal–Semiconductor (M–S) and Metal–Insulator–Semiconductor (M–I–S) contacts. The nonlinear behavior in a conventional Richardson plot was observed with lower values of the Richardson constant (A*). We have reported the surface inhomogeneity in both M–S and M–I–S contacts through temperature dependency of diode characteristics. The standard deviation (σ) as evidence for the Gaussian distribution of barrier heights was determined using the ln(Is/T2) vs q/2kT plot. The results were validated by a modified Richardson plot where the values of A* obtained were found to be in close agreement with the known values. As the ALD technique is known for conformity and uniformity of thin films, the dielectric insertion has proved effective in mitigating the SBH. However, the inhomogeneity in both M–S and M–I–S points to the role of dipole formation at the interface.

Schottky Barrier Characteristic Analysis on 4H-SiC Schottky Barrier Diodes With Heavy Ion-Induced Degradation

Leakage current of 1200-V 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with different structures increased by various degrees after heavy-ion exposure. By taking <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${I}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>&#x2013;<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${V}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> measurements in a range of 298 to 448 K, the voltage dependence of saturation current (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$I_{0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), barrier height (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\phi _{B0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>), and ideality factor (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$n$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) were obtained. The dependence of these parameters with temperature illustrates the Gaussian distribution of barrier height. The inhomogeneity of the Schottky barrier height (SBH) distribution was successfully described using a modified thermionic emission (TE) model with Gaussian distribution, and the average barrier height (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\bar {\phi }_{B0}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) was gained. The results show that the barrier height distribution of all SBDs remain unchanged after the irradiation which means heavy-ion exposure did not affect the Schottky barrier.

Temperature dependence of electrical behaviour of inhomogeneous Ni/Au/4H–SiC Schottky diodes

Temperature dependence of electrical parameters of Ni/Au/4H–SiC Schottky diodes in a small temperature interval has been studied. Current–voltage characteristics were measured between 35 and 80 °C. I–V curves have not a linear part in semi-logarithmic plot which indicates barrier height inhomogeneity. We analyzed forward part of the I–V curves assuming Gaussian barrier height distribution and parallel connection of diode patches with different barrier heights. Using the least squares method we determined mean barrier height, standard deviation of the barrier height distribution and finally series resistance of the diode as a function of temperature. The extracted barrier height and standard deviation of the distribution decrease with increasing temperature. In contrary the series resistance of the diode increases with increasing temperature. As an interesting feature and a consequence of the series resistance increase with temperature a crossing of the I–V curves in practically the one point of the I–V curve has been observed. At this cross-point the current flowing through the diode is independent of the temperature.

Temperature-dependent interface barrier behavior in MoS2/n-GaN 2D/3D heterojunction

We fabricated MoS2/n-type GaN 2D/3D heterojunction diode, investigated its structural properties and temperature-dependent current–voltage (I–V) characteristics. The MoS2 2D film on GaN is 5.2-nm-thick with ~ 0.64 nm interlayer distance. The Barrier height and ideality factor of the MoS2/n-type GaN heterojunction increase and decrease, respectively with rising temperature, associated with the barrier height inhomogeneities. The barrier height inhomogeneity evaluation considering the Gaussian distribution of barrier heights indicate the presence of double Gaussian barrier distribution with mean barrier heights of 0.95 and 1.44 eV and standard deviations of 0.11 and 0.18 eV in the temperature range of 125–225 and 225–400 K, respectively. Reverse current showed an electric field dependence with the carrier transport dominated by Poole-Frenkel emission irrespective of the temperature.

Effect of Temperature on the Electrical and Current Transport Properties of Au/Nd2O3/n-GaN Metal/Interlayer/Semiconductor (MIS) Junction

The Au/Nd2O3/n-type GaN metal/interlayer/semiconductor (MIS) junctions were fabricated with high-k rare-earth oxide interlayer and explored its electrical properties in the wide temperature range of 150–400 K. An anomalous decrease in barrier height and an increase in the ideality factor with a decrease in the temperature were observed. The anomalous barrier height and ideality factor are ascribed to a role of barrier inhomogeneities at the interface of MIS junction assuming a double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights in the temperature ranges of 150–225 K and 225–400 K. Double Gaussian distribution giving mean barrier heights of 0.84 eV and 1.23 eV and standard deviations of 0.0085 V and 0.0187 V for the two temperature regions. A modified conventional energy plot gives mean barrier height $$\left( {\overline{\Phi }_{bo} } \right)$$ and Richardson constant (A*) as 0. eV and 13.44 Acm−2 K−2 (150–225 K) and 1.23 eV and 22.85 Acm−2 K−2 (250–400 K), respectively. The estimated A* value in the temperature range of 250–400 K was closely matched with the theoretical value of n-type GaN. Moreover, results express that the obtained interface state density of the MIS junction decreases with increasing temperature. Results explained that the reverse current conduction governed by Poole–Frenkel emission at the temperature range of 150–225 K and Schottky emission at 250–400 K, respectively.

Impact of doping on the performance of p-type Be-doped Al0.29 Ga0.71As Schottky diodes

The effects of changing the acceptors concentration on the electrical characteristics of Au/Ti on Be-doped Al0.29Ga0.71As Schottky contact have been investigated in the temperature range of 100—400 K. Using three devices with three different doping levels, the barrier height (ΦB), ideality factor (n) and series resistance (RS) for each diode were evaluated using both thermionic emission (TE) theory and Cheung's method. Our experimental results showed that the sample with a moderate doping concentration of 3 · 1016 cm-3 has the best performance, including ideality factor of 1.25 and rectification ratio of 2.24 · 103 at room temperature. All samples showed an abnormal behavior of reducing ΦB and increasing n with increase of temperature. This behavior was attributed, in case of low concentration samples, to barrier inhomogeneity and was explained by assuming a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at the interface. While for the heavily doped sample, such non-ideal manner was ascribed with tunneling through the field emission (FE) mechanism.

The effect of temperature on the forward bias electrical characteristics of both pure Ni and oxidized Ni/Au Schottky contacts on n-type GaN: A case study

The forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of both oxidized Ni/Au and pure Ni metal Schottky contacts on n-type GaN have been investigated in the temperature range 160–400 K. The I-V curves were fitted using thermionic emission (TE) theory. It was found that the zero-bias barrier height (ϕb0) decreases while the ideality factor (η) increases with decreasing temperature (i.e. To effect). As a result, various transport models are considered in the analysis of the I-V experimental data in order to explain the observed anomaly in η and ϕb0. The deviation from linearity in the To effect plot for oxidized Ni/Au can be explained in terms of Schottky barrier height (SBH) inhomogeneity. As a result, a linear correlation between the zero-bias barrier height and ideality factor at different temperatures was found using Tung’s theoretical approach in order to extrapolate the homogenous barrier height (ϕhom). For oxidized Ni/Au, it was found that there are two distinct ϕhom values with one representing the low temperature range (ϕhom_1 = 1.02 eV) and another representing the high temperature range (ϕhom_2 = 1.23 eV). However, for pure Ni, there is no inhomogeneity in the barrier height (i.e. ϕhom = 0.87 eV). Furthermore, the ϕb0-ap vs. q/(2kT) plot also shows evidence of a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights for both oxidezed Ni/Au (ϕb0-mean = 1.45 eV and σs = 141 mV) and pure Ni (ϕb0-mean = 0.92 eV and σs = 69.3 mV). The 1/η vs. 1000/T plot is constructed to investigate the different current transport mechanisms in both oxidized Ni/Au and pure Ni. These various current transport mechanisms at different temperatures can be attributed to the barrier inhomogeneity at the metal–semiconductor interface.

Schottky barrier inhomogeneities at the interface of different epitaxial layer thicknesses of n-GaAs/Ti/Au/Si: Al0.33Ga0.67As

The effects of an epitaxial layer on the rectifying behavior of n-GaAs/Ti/Au/Si:Al0.33Ga0.67 As diodes have been examined through the inhomogeneity model on n+-GaAs substrate with orientation. The electrical properties and conduction mechanism of these materials were understood through theoretical models. The inhomogeneity model was used to electrical behavior of these diodes was explained. The barrier height inhomogeneity model reveals a 13% and 15% barrier height inhomogeneity in N1 and N2 Schottky diodes, respectively. The ideal thermionic emission behavior increases the ideality factors and reduces barrier heights. Within the entire temperature range, the effective Schottky barrier for a thin epitaxial layer was higher. Such results depicted the presence of defects in the thick layer, which decreased the barrier height and ultimately degraded diode performance. The thermionic emission theory along with Gaussian distribution of barrier heights is explained by the temperature dependence of the forward bias current-voltage-temperature (I-V-T) features.

Analysis of temperature-dependent forward and leakage conduction mechanisms in organic thin film heterojunction diode with fluorine-based PCBM blend

The forward and reversed biased current–voltage behaviors of the organic diode were detailed in a wide range of temperatures. In this diode, a donor–acceptor-conjugated copolymer system was constructed with poly((9,9-dioctylfluorene)-2,7-diyl-(2-dodecyl-benzo[1,2,3]triazole)) as a partner of [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM). Two-order of magnitude rectification ratio was achieved, and the temperature-dependent values of saturation current, zero-bias barrier height, and ideality factor were extracted according to the thermionic emission model. The temperature responses of these diode parameters showed an existence of inhomogeneity in the barrier height formation. As a result, the observed non-ideal behavior was explained by Gaussian distribution of barrier height where low-barrier regions are effective in the forward biased conduction mechanism at low temperatures. Together with this analysis, series resistances were evaluated using Cheung’s functions and also density of interface states were investigated. On the other hand, reverse biased current flow was found under the dominant effect of Poole–Frenkel effects associated with these interfacial traps. The reverse current conduction mechanism was detailed by calculating characteristic field-lowering coefficients and barrier height values in the emission process from the trapped state in the range of temperatures of interest.

Conductance Deep-Level Transient Spectroscopy and Current Transport Mechanisms in Au|Pt|n-GaN Schottky Barrier Diodes

The current transport mechanisms in Au|Pt|n-GaN Schottky barrier diodes are investigated in a temperature range of 40–325 K. The calculated barrier height and ideality factor are 1.12 and 2.13 eV, respectively, and it is observed that the barrier height Φb increases and the ideality factor n decreases with temperature increase. The apparent barrier height and the ideality factor derived by using thermionic emission theory are found to be strongly temperature-dependent. The increase in barrier height with increasing temperature has been explained as an effect of barrier inhomogeneity. This behavior has been interpreted based on the assumption of a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights due to barrier height inhomogeneity at the interface between the metal and semiconductor. The abnormal behavior of all these parameters can be attributed to the presence of deep levels thermally activated. Conductance deep-level transient spectroscopy (CDLTS) results shows that the two deep-level defects are observed in as-grown sample with activation energies of E1 = 0.18 eV and HL1 = 0.87 eV.

Temperature-dependent Schottky barrier parameters of Ni/Au on n-type (001) β-Ga2O3 Schottky barrier diode

This study examined the temperature-dependent current-voltage (I–V) characteristics of the Ni/Au Schottky contact to β-Ga2O3. The Au/Ni/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diode showed a good rectifying behavior. The on-resistance and rectification ratio decreased with increasing temperature, which could be ascribed to the increase in the number of thermally activated electrons. The Au/Ni/β-Ga2O3 Schottky diode exhibited the strong temperature-dependence of Schottky barrier parameters, indicating the presence of inhomogeneous Schottky barrier prevailing in the interface between Ni and β-Ga2O3. The inhomogeneities were analyzed using thermionic emission with assuming a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights. The results revealed the existence of a double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights in the diode with a transition occurring at 225 K. The modified Richardson plot was evaluated using a Gaussian distribution approach and yielded a Richardson constant closely matching with the theoretical value of β-Ga2O3. The density of interface states, extracted using I–V characteristics, increased with decreasing temperature, which could be associated with the thermally-driven restructuring and reordering of the Ni/β-Ga2O3 interface state.

Double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights and self-powered infrared photoresponse of InN/AlN/Si (111) heterostructure

InN epilayer has been grown by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on the AlN/n-Si (111) substrate. The self-powered photodetection has been carried out with an infra-red (IR) laser (λ=1550nm, power density ∼106.2mA/cm2), where a photoresponsivity was observed to be 3.36 μA/W with response times in milliseconds from the InN/AlN/n-Si (111)-based semiconductor–insulator–semiconductor (SIS) interface. Furthermore, to elucidate the vertical electrical transport properties of the SIS interface, low-temperature electrical behavior has been investigated over a range of 100–400 K. Experimental studies revealed an abnormal increase in the barrier height and a decrease in the ideality factor with increasing temperature, suggesting inhomogeneous barrier heights across the heterojunctions. Such inhomogeneity behaviors have been successfully explained on the basis of thermionic emission theory, assuming the existence of a double Gaussian distribution of barrier heights at the heterostructure interface. Moreover, the SIS device structure exhibits mean barrier heights (φ¯b0) of 1.11 and 0.63 eV, respectively, in two temperature regimes, indicating the presence of defect states and inhomogeneity at the interface, which is supported by the nonlinear behavior of the photocurrent with the power density.

Determination of current transport characteristics in Au-Cu/CuO/n-Si Schottky diodes

In this study, the material properties of CuO thin films fabricated by sputtering technique and electrical properties of CuO/n-Si structure were reported. Temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) measurement was carried out to determine the detail electrical characteristics of this structure. The anomaly in thermionic emission (TE) model related to barrier height inhomogeneity at the interface was obtained from the forward bias I-V analysis. The current transport mechanism at the junction was determined under the assumption of TE with Gaussian distribution of barrier height. In this analysis, standard deviation and mean zero bias barrier height were evaluated as 0.176 and 1.48 eV, respectively. Depending on the change in the diode parameters with temperature, Richardson constant was recalculated as 110.20 Acm−2K−2 with the help of modified Richardson plot. In addition, density of states at the interface were determined by using the forward bias I-V results.

Influence of barrier inhomogeneities on transport properties of Pt/MoS2 Schottky barrier junction

The electrical transport properties of the Pt/MoS2 Schottky barrier junction have been investigated to explore the effect of lateral barrier inhomogeneities at the interface. The junction with a relatively thin layer (5 nm) of MoS2 exhibits rectifying behavior and changes into Ohmic nature on increasing the thickness of MoS2. The current-voltage (I–V) measurements on the Schottky barrier junction were performed in the temperature range of 200–350 K. Our detailed analysis of the temperature dependent I–V data shows the presence of a bi-fold charge transport mechanism across the Pt/MoS2 interface. Dipolar fields, present due to inhomogeneities at the interface, modify charge transport in addition to the thermionic emission mechanism attributed conventionally for the Schottky junctions. The model, assuming a Gaussian distribution of barrier heights due to the presence of lateral inhomogeneities, has been used to analyze and explain the temperature dependent I–V data. The effect of lateral inhomogeneities on the electrical properties of the Pt/MoS2 Schottky junction has been studied in a quantitative manner.