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The effect of fast annealing treatment on the interface structure and electrical properties of Au/Hg3In2Te6 contact

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Abstract

The effect of fast annealing treatment on the electrical properties and interface structures of Au/Hg3In2Te6 contact has been studied by means of current–voltage test and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The current–voltage characteristics of Au/Hg3In2Te6 indicate an improvement of the Schottky barrier height (SBH) from 0.557 to 0.601 eV after proper annealing treatment. Meanwhile, the orthorhombic AuTe2 particles with irregular morphology formed near the interface region after 200 °C annealing treatment. These particles were generated by chemical reaction between Au and Te atoms rather than the phase transformation process. Two types of crystallographic orientation relationship were confirmed between AuTe2 particles and the Hg3In2Te6 matrix owing to the orientation attachment mechanism. Based on the results, it is believed that the formation of the AuTe2 phase is likely to introduce additional energy level in Hg3In2Te6, leading to the upward of band bending and increment of SBH.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the facility use and scientific and technical assistance from AMMRF at the University of Sydney. The authors also thank Dr. Hongwei Liu in ACMM for the kindly assistance on the TEM results analysis. Z. L. wishes to thank the Australian Research Council for funding support (DP130104231). This work has been also supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51172185), Fund of Ministry of Education for Doctor (No. 20116102110013), the Programme of Introducing Talents of Discipline to Universities (No. B08040), the Doctorate Foundation of Northwestern Polytechnical University (No. CX201104), and the Ministry of Education Fund for Doctoral Students Newcomer Awards of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Solidification Processing, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 127# Youyi Road, Xi’an, 710072, China

    Jie Sun, Li Fu & Yapeng Li

  2. School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Jie Sun & Zongwen Liu

  3. Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Jie Sun & S. P. Ringer

  4. School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    S. P. Ringer

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  1. Jie Sun
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  2. Li Fu
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  4. Yapeng Li
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Correspondence to Li Fu or Zongwen Liu.

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Sun, J., Fu, L., Ringer, S.P. et al. The effect of fast annealing treatment on the interface structure and electrical properties of Au/Hg3In2Te6 contact. J Mater Sci 49, 6160–6166 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8324-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-014-8324-y

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