Temperature-dependent current-voltage characteristics of Cr/n-GaAs Schottky diodes

The Cr/n-GaAs/In Schottky contacts have been formed using dc magnetron sputtering. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device have been measured by steps of 20 K in the temperature range of 60-320 K. The ideality factor n of the device has remained about unchanged between 1.04 and 1.10 and Schottky barrier height around 0.58-0.60 eV from 320 K down to 160 K. It can be said that the experimental I-V data are almost independent of temperature above 160 K. After 160 K, the n value increased with a decrease in temperature and become 1.99 at 60 K. The I-V characteristics at high temperatures have been exactly explained by the standard TE model. The nature and origin of abnormal behaviors at low temperatures have been successfully explained by the current flow through the low SBH circular patches suggested by Tung and used by some studies in literature. It has been seen that the straight line of the nT vs. T plot with a To value of 14 K was parallel to that of the ideal Schottky contact. Again, a lateral homogeneous BH value of 0.62 eV was calculated from the linear relationship between the ideality factor and barrier height values. It has been seen that he phi(T=0) and BH temperature coefficient a values obtained from the flat band BH and the Norde's model plots are in close agreement with each other. Crown Copyright (C) 2008 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.