Abstract
In this work, we report on the study of the electrical and optical properties of amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC)-based Schottky diodes for optoelectronic applications. A significant decrease of reflectivity and an enhancement of the passivating properties of more than 97% were reached after a-SiC layer deposition on silicon substrate. The deposited a-SiC film exhibits a dielectric constant of 2.143. Temperature effect on Schottky diode performances was carried out through the analysis of the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics at temperature range of 298–573 K. The ideality factor at room temperature was found to be 1.651, and it was improved to 1.132 when temperature was increased to 573 K. The calculated barrier height of the diode at room temperature was c 0.812 eV and it increased with temperature to reach 1.640 at 573 K. The change in the barrier height was attributed to the effective leakage current at high temperature. Shunt resistance Rsh remained at around 85 KΩ along this range with a slight decrease at high temperature. Series resistance Rs was sharply decreased from 520 Ω at room temperature to 45 Ω at 573 K. Thanks to the optical and electrical characterization performed, we have demonstrated the possibility of using such non hydrogenated amorphous SiC layers to improve the properties of based silicon Schottky diodes.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
M. Barbouche, R. Benabderrahmane Zaghouani, N.E. Benammar, K. Khirouni, H. Ezzaouia, Synthesis and characterization of 3C-SiC by rapid silica carbothermal reduction. Int J Adv Manufact Technol 91, 1339 (2016)
D.K. Shi, Y. Wang, X. Wu, Z.Y. Yang, X.J. Li, J.Q. Yang, F. Cao, Improving the Barrier inhomogeneity of 4H-SiC Schottky Diodes by inserting Al2O3 interface layer. Solid-State Electronics 180, 107992 (2021)
G. Bellocchi, M. Vivona, C. Bongiorno, P. Badalà, A. Bassi, S. Rascuna, F. Roccaforte, Barrier Height Tuning in Ti/4H-SiC Schottky diodes. Solid-State Electron 186, 108042 (2021)
A. Latreche, Z. Ouennoughi, R. Weiss, Temperature dependence of the inhomogeneous parameters of the Mo/4H–SiC Schottky barrier diodes. Semicond Sci Technol 31, 085008 (2016)
R. Radhakrishnan, T. Witt, R. Woodin, Temperature dependent design of Silicon Carbide Schottky diodes, In: 2014 IEEE Workshop on Wide Bandgap Power Devices and Applications. IEEE, 151(2014).
I. Hussain, M.Y. Soomro, N. Bano, O. Nur, M. Willander, Systematic study of interface trap and barrier inhomogeneities using I-V-T characteristics of Au/ZnO nanorods Schottky diode. J Appl Phy 113, 234509 (2013)
J.C. Cheng, J.E. Lee, B.Y. Tsui, Schottky barrier diodes isolated by local oxidation of SiC (LOCOSiC) using pre-amorphization implantation technology. Solid-State Electron 171, 107834 (2020)
S. Wang, R. Hu, G. Chen, C. Luo, M. Gong, Y. Li, Z. Yang, Investigation of 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes irradiated with 6 MeV Au ions at low temperature. Nuclear Instr Method Phy Res Sect B Beam Interact Mater Atoms 494, 53–58 (2021)
R. Choudhary, M. Mehta, R.S. Shekhawat, S. Singh, D. Singh, Optimization of a 4H-SiC Schottky diode using TCAD software. Mater Today Proceed (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2021.02.746
M.M. Gao, L.Y. Fan, Z.Z. Chen, Ideal Ni-Based 4H–SiC Schottky barrier diodes with Si intercalation. Mater Sci Semicond Process 107, 104866 (2020)
V. Kumar, J. Verma, A.S. Maan, J. Akhtar, Epitaxial 4H–SiC based Schottky diode temperature sensors in ultra-low current range. Vacuum 182, 109590 (2020)
P.A. Ivanov, M.E. Levinshtein, The impact of parasitic inductance on the dV/dt ruggedness of 4H-SiC Schottky diodes. Microelectron Reliability 122, 114159 (2021)
V. Kumar, S. Pawar, A.S. Maan, J. Akhtar, Diameter dependent thermal sensitivity variation trend in Ni/4H-SiC Schottky diode temperature sensors. J Vacuum Sci Technol B 33, 052207 (2015)
M. Yamanaka, H. Daimon, E. Sakuma, S. Misawa, S. Yoshida, Temperature dependence of electrical properties of n-and p-type 3C-SiC. J Appl Phys 61, 599–603 (1987)
M. Barbouche, R. Zaghouani Benabderrahmen, N.E. Benammar, H. Ezzaouia, Impact of rapid thermal annealing on impurities removal efficiency from silicon carbide for optoelectronic applications. Int J Adv Manufact Technol 106(1–4), 731–739 (2020)
M. Barbouche, R. Benabderrahmane Zaghouani, N.E. Benammar, V. Aglieri, M. Mosca, R. Macaluso, K. Khirouni, H. Ezzaouia, New process of silicon carbide purification intended for silicon passivation. Superlatt Microstruct 101, 512 (2017)
N. Elghoul, S. Kraiem, R. Jemai, B. Zebentout, K. Khirouni, Annealing effects on electrical and optical properties of a-Si: H layer deposited by PECVD. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 40, 302 (2015)
L. Magafas, J. Kalomiros, D. Bandekas, G. Tsirigotis, Optimization of the electrical properties of Al/a-SiC: H Schottky diodes by means of thermal annealing of a-SiC: H thin films. Microelectron J 37, 1352 (2006)
D. Korucu, Temperature and series resistance effect on the forward bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of In/p-InP Schottky barrier diode (SBD). J. Optoelectron. Adv. Mater. 12, 2194 (2010)
J.H Werner et H.H Güttler, Temperature dependence of Schottky barrier heights on silicon, Journal of Applied Physics 73, 1315 (1993).
S. Zhu, R.L. Van Meirhaeghe, C. Detavernier, G.P. Ru, B.Z. Li, F. Cardon, A BEEM study of the temperature dependence of the barrier height distribution in PtSi/n-Si Schottky diodes. Solid State Commun. 112, 611 (1999)
L. Sun, Z. Shi, L. Liang, S. Wei, H. Wang, D. Dastan, K. Sun, R. Fan, Layer-structured BaTiO 3/P (VDF–HFP) composites with concurrently improved dielectric permittivity and breakdown strength toward capacitive energy-storage applications. J Mater Chem C 8, 10257 (2020)
L. Sun, L. Liang, Z. Shi, H. Wang, P. Xie, D. Dastan, K. Sun, R. Fan, Optimizing strategy for the dielectric performance of topological-structured polymer nanocomposites by rationally tailoring the spatial distribution of nanofillers. Engineered Science 12, 95 (2020)
Ş Karataş, Ş Altındal, M. Çakar, Current transport in Zn/p-Si(1 0 0) Schottky barrier diodes at high temperatures. Physica B 357, 386 (2005)
Ş Karataş, Ş Altındal, Analysis of I-V characteristics on Au/n-type GaAs Schottky structures in wide temperature range. Mater. Sci. Eng., B 122, 133 (2005)
W. Mönch, Barrier heights of real Schottky contacts explained by metal-induced gap states and lateral inhomogeneities. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B: Nanotechnol. Microelectron. Mater., Process., Meas., Phenom. 17, 1867 (1999)
R.F. Schmitsdorf, T.U. Kampen, W. Mönch, Explanation of the linear correlation between barrier heights and ideality factors of real metal-semiconductor contacts by laterally nonuniform Schottky barriers. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., B: Nanotechnol. Microelectron. Mater., Process., Meas., Phenom. 15, 1221 (1997)
J.F. Felix, M. Aziz, D.L. da Cunha, K.F. Seidel, I.A. Hümmelgen, W.M. de Azevedo, E.F. da Silva Jr, D. Taylor, M. Henini, Investigation of deep-level defects in conductive polymer on n-type 4H- and 6H-silicon carbide substrates using I-V and deep level transient spectroscopy techniques. J Appl Phy 112, 014505 (2012)
C. Van Nguyen, K. Potje-Kamloth, Electrical and NOx gas sensing properties of metallophthalocyanine-doped polypyrrole/silicon heterojunctions. Thin Solid Films 392, 113 (2001)
E. Gur, S. Tuzemen, B. Kilic, C. Coskun, High-temperature Schottky diode characteristics of bulk ZnO. J Phy Condens Matt 19, 196206 (2007)
G.S. Chung, K.S. Kim, F. Yakuphanoglu, Electrical characterization of Au/3C-SiC/n-Si/Al Schottky junction. J. Alloy. Compd. 507, 508 (2010)
K. Bourenane, A. Keffous, G. Nezzal, A. Bourenane, Y. Boukennous, A. Boukezzata, Influence of thickness and porous structure of SiC layers on the electrical properties of Pt/SiC-pSi and Pd/SiC-pSi Schottky diodes for gas sensing purposes. Sens Actuators B 129, 612 (2008)
F. Triendl, G. Pfusterschmied, C. Berger, S. Schwarz, W. Artner, U. Schmid, Ti/4H-SiC Schottky barrier modulation by ultrathin a-SiC: H interface layer. Thin Solid Films 721, 138539 (2021)
F. Triendl, G. Pfusterschmied, G. Pobegen, J.P. Konrath, U. Schmid, Theoretical and experimental investigations of barrier height inhomogeneities in poly-Si/4H-SiC heterojunction diodes. Semicond. Sci. Technol 35, 115011 (2020)
A. Ferhat Hamida, Z. Ouennoughi, A. Sellai, R. Weissand, H. Ryssel, Barrier inhomogeneities of tungsten Schottky diodes on 4H-SiC. Semicond Sci Technol 23, 045005 (2008)
L. Magafas, Optical response study of the al=a-sic:h schottky diode for different substrate temperatures of the rf sputtered a-sic:h thin film. Act. Passive Electron. Compon. 26, 63 (2003)
B.C Kim, Electrical characterization of Schottky barrier diodes on heteroepitaxial 3C-SiC grown on Si substrates, Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University, (2008).
Z.J. Horvath, Comment on “Analysis of I-V measurements on CrSi2-Si Schottky structures in a wide temperature range.” Solid-State Electron. 39, 176 (1996)
S.M. Sze, Physics of Semiconductor Devices, 2nd edn. (Willey, New York, 1981)
N. Yildirim, K. Ejderha, A. Turut, On temperature-dependent experimental I-V and C-V data of Ni/n-GaN Schottky contacts. J Appl Phy 108, 114506 (2010)
D. Dastan, A. Banpurkar, Solution processable sol–gel derived titania gate dielectric for organic field effect transistors. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 28, 3851 (2017)
D. Dastan, S.W. Gosavi, N.B. Chaure, Studies on electrical properties of hybrid polymeric gate dielectrics for field effect transistors. Macromol. Symp. 347, 81 (2015)
D. Korucu, A. Turut, Temperature dependence of Schottky diode characteristics prepared with photolithography technique. Int. J. Electron. 101, 1595 (2014)
W. Zhang, X. Zhu, L. Liang, P. Yin, P. Xie, D. Dastan, K. Sun, R. Fan, Z. Shi, Significantly enhanced dielectric permittivity and low loss in epoxy composites incorporating 3d W-WO 3/BaTiO 3 foams. J. Mater. Sci. 56, 4254 (2021)
P. Yin, Z. Shi, L. Sun, P. Xie, D. Dastan, K. Sun, R. Fan, Improved breakdown strengths and energy storage properties of polyimide composites: the effect of internal interfaces of C/SiO2 hybrid nanoparticles. Polym. Compos. 42, 3000 (2021)
X. Li, T.K.S. Wong, D. Yang, Structural and electronic properties of low dielectric constant carbon rich amorphous silicon carbide. Diam. Relat. Mater. 12, 963 (2003)
S.H. Cho, D.J. Choi, The study of dielectric constant change of a-SiC: H films deposited by remote PECVD with low deposition temperatures. J. Korean Phys. Soc. 55, 1920 (2009)
L.F. Marsal, J. Pallares, X. Correig, A. Orpella, D. Bardes, R. Alcubilla, Current transport mechanisms in n-type amorphous silicon–carbon on p-type crystalline silicon (aSi0:8C0:2:H/c-Si) heterojunction diodes. Semicond. Sci. Technol. 13, 1148 (1998)
N. Akter, M.D. Abul Hossion, M. Hoq, S.M. Rana, M.D. Anzan-Uz-Zaman, M.D. Nasrul Haque Mia, M.D. Alamgir Kabir, Z.H. Mahmood, Electrical characterization and doping uniformity measurement during crystalline silicon solar cell fabrication using hot probe method. Eng Int 2, 38 (2014)
B.W.C. Au, K.Y. Chan, Y.K. Sin, Z.N. Ng, Hot-point probe measurements of N-type and P-type ZnO films. Microelectron. Int. 34, 30 (2017)
T. F. Sheikholeslami, Characterization of amorphous silicon carbide and its application to the contact barrier diode, Doctoral dissertation, University of Sherbrook Canada, (2008).
W. Chikhaoui, Study of the physical mechanisms responsible for the malfunctions of heterostructure-based HEMTs AlGaN/GaN et AlInN/GaN, Doctoral dissertation, INSA Lyon, (2011).
J. Fan, P.K. Chu, Silicon Carbide Nanostructures Fabrication, Structure, and Properties Engineering Materials and Processes ( Springer, Cham, 2014)
M. Toure, B. Berenguier, L. Ottaviani, M. Pasquinelli, O. Palais, P. Di Lauro, M. Portail, S. Chenot, T. Wood, D. Kobor, New 3C silicon carbide on silicon hetero-junction solar cells for UV collection enhancement. RS Online Procee Lib 1693, 168 (2014)
A.A. Lebedev, V.V. Kozlovski, M.E. Levinshtein, A.E. Ivanov, K.S. Davydovskaya, V.S. Yuferev, A.V. Zubov, Impact of high temperature electron irradiation on characteristics of power SiC Schottky diodes. Radiat Phy Chem 185, 109514 (2021)
K.Y. Lee, C.F. Huang, W. Chen, M.A. Capano, The impact of surface morphology on C-and Si-face 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes. Physica B 401, 41 (2007)
N.M. Abd-Alghafour, N.M. Ahmed, Z. Hassan, Fabrication and characterization of V2O5 nanorods basedmetal–semiconductor–metal photodetector. Sens Actuators A 250, 250 (2016)
D. Dastan, Nanostructured anatase titania thin films prepared by sol-gel dip coating technique. J Atomic Mol Condensed Matter and Nano Phy 2, 109 (2015)
D. Dastan, P.U. Londhe, N.B. Chaure, Characterization of TiO2 nanoparticles prepared using different surfactants by sol–gel method. J. Mater. Sci. Mater. Electron. 25, 3473 (2014)
D. Dastan, N.B. Chaure, Influence of surfactants on TiO2 nanoparticles grown by sol-gel technique. J. Mater. Mech. Manufact 2, 21 (2014)
F.R. Juang, Y.K. Fang, Y.T. Chiang, T.H. Chou, C.I. Lin, A high-performance n-i-p sicn homojunction for low-cost and high-temperature ultraviolet detecting applications. IEEE Sens. J. 11, 150 (2011)
W.R. Chang, Y.K. Fang, S.F. Ting, Y.S. Tsair, C.N. Chang, C.Y. Lin, S.F. Chen, The hetero-epitaxial SiCN/Si MSM photodetector for high-temperature deep-UV detecting applications. IEEE Electron Device Lett. 24, 565 (2003)
S. Nishikawa, H. Hashimoto, M. Chikamoto, K. Horikoshi, M. Aoki, K. Arima, J. Uchikosi, M. Morita, Photo current through SnO2/SiC/p-Si(100) structures. Thin Solid Films 508, 385 (2006)
A. Aldalbahi, E. Li, M. Rivera, R. Velazquez, T. Altalhi, X. Peng, P.X. Feng, A new approach for fabrications of SiC based photodetectors. Sci. Rep. 6, 23457 (2016)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barbouche, M., Benabderrahmane Zaghouani, R., Ben Ammar, N.E. et al. Effect of amorphous SiC layer on electrical and optical properties of Al/a-SiC/c-Si Schottky diode for optoelectronic applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 32, 20598–20611 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06570-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-021-06570-6