Temperature dependence of Schottky barrier heights on silicon

Abstract

We investigate the temperature dependence of Schottky barrier heights on silicon. The analysis of a large variety of polycrystalline diodes shows that the temperature coefficient of the barrier height depends on the chemical nature of the metal. This observation is in contradiction with models suggesting Fermi-level pinning at the center of the semiconductor’s indirect band gap. From the analysis of epitaxial NiSi2/Si Schottky contacts, we conclude that there is a direct influence of interface crystallography on both the barrier height and its temperature dependence. Finally, we present some new results on the pressure coefficient of barrier heights. Pressure and temperature coefficients of polycrystalline Schottky contacts are correlated similarly to the pressure and temperature coefficients of the band gap.