Origin of discrepancies in the experimental values of the barrier height at metal–semiconductor junctions

Abstract

A possible explanation is suggested for discrepancies between experimental values obtained by different authors for the barrier height at the same metal–semiconductor junction. It is supposed that the problem is caused primarily by the structural inhomogeneity of the metal. As a result, the junction behaves as an assembly of a large number of subjunctions connected in parallel. To determine the effect of metal inhomogeneity on the properties of a junction, the dependence of the barrier height in a Schottky diode on the junction area is investigated under the assumption that, with an increase in the area of a junction between a singlecrystal semiconductor and a polycrystalline metal, the degree of inhomogeneity and, thus, the number of subjunctions, increases.