Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Electrical and photoelectrical characterization of Au/n-Si diode with sputtered ZrO2 interlayer

  • Published:
Journal of Materials Science: Materials in Electronics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

ZrO2 thin films were deposited on n-Si and quartz substrates by a reactive sputtering technique. The morphological and optical characterization of a sputtered ZrO2 thin film revealed a highly smooth surface with 1.5 nm roughness and optical band gap value of 5.7 eV. An Au/ZrO2/n-Si metal–insulator-semiconductor (MIS) structure was obtained by evaporation of the Au on ZrO2/n-Si structure. The electrical properties analyzed by current–voltage (I-V) measurements in the dark showed that the device had 5. 094 ideality factor, 0.808 eV barrier height, and 50 Ω series resistance values. The C-V measurements showed that the device could not follow the AC signals at higher frequencies owing to the interface states, and the barrier height value calculated using C-V data (0.916 eV) is higher than the one obtained from the I-V plot. The photoelectrical parameters were determined by I-V measurements at various light intensities. The findings proved that the photoelectrical parameters of the MIS device had a photosensing behavior.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

References

  1. B. Qi, S. Liang, Y. Li, C. Zhou, H. Yu, J. Li, ZrO2 Matrix Toughened Ceramic Material-Strength and Toughness. Adv. Eng. Mater. 24, 2101278 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. J. Jeong, Y. Han, H. Sohn, Effect of La doping on dielectric constant and tetragonality of ZrO2 thin films deposited by atomic layer deposition. J. Alloy. Compd. 92, 166961 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. J.P. Silva, M.C. Istrate, M. Hellenbrand, A. Jan, M.T. Becker, J. Symonowicz, F.G. Figueiras, V. Lenzi, M.O. Hill, C. Ghica, Ferroelectricity and negative piezoelectric coefficient in orthorhombic phase pure ZrO2 thin films. Appl. Mater. Today 30, 101708 (2023)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. M. Ismail, H. Abbas, C. Choi, S. Kim, Controllable analog resistive switching and synaptic characteristics in ZrO2/ZTO bilayer memristive device for neuromorphic systems. Appl. Surf. Sci. 529, 147107 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. S. Ha, H. Lee, W.-Y. Lee, B. Jang, H.-J. Kwon, K. Kim, J. Jang, Effect of annealing environment on the performance of sol–gel-processed ZrO2 RRAM. Electronics 8, 947 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. P. Kondaiah, S. Jagadeesh Chandra, E. Fortunato, C. Chel Jong, G. Mohan Rao, D.R. Koti Reddy, S. Uthanna, Substrate temperature influenced ZrO2 films for MOS devices. Surf. Inter. Anal. 52, 541–546 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. T. Guo, H. Wu, X. Su, Q. Guo, C. Liu, Surface functionalization toward top-gated monolayer MoS2 field-effect transistors with ZrO2/Al2O3 as composite dielectrics. J. Alloy. Compd. 871, 159116 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. R. Naik, S. Mohit, S. Chavan, Piezoelectric property investigation on PVDF/ZrO2/ZnO nanocomposite for energy harvesting application. Eng. Res. Exp. 3, 025003 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. B. Xu, L. Collins, K.M. Holsgrove, T. Mikolajick, U. Schroeder, P.D. Lomenzo, Influence of the Ozone Dose Time during Atomic Layer Deposition on the Ferroelectric and Pyroelectric Properties of 45 nm-Thick ZrO2 Films. ACS Appl. Electron. Mater. 5, 2288–2295 (2023)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Y. Huang, Y. Feng, X. Sun, Y. Han, D. Liu, X. Tan, Preparation of ZrO2/silicone hybrid materials for LED encapsulation via in situ sol-gel reaction. Polym. Adv. Technol. 30, 1818–1824 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Z. Orhan, F. Yıldırım, S. Khalili, H.M. Chenari, Ş Aydoğan, Long-term stable, self-powered and highly sensitive photodetectors based on the ZnO: ZrO2 composite fibers (Fs)/N-Si heterojunction. JOM 74, 3091–3102 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. S.M. Lim, J. Moon, G.H. Choi, U.C. Baek, J.M. Lim, J.T. Park, J.H. Kim, Surface carbon shell-functionalized ZrO2 as nanofiller in polymer gel electrolyte-based dye-sensitized solar cells. Nanomaterials 9, 1418 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. P. Prabukanthan, R. Lakshmi, G. Harichandran, T. Tatarchuk, Photovoltaic device performance of pure, manganese (Mn 2+) doped and irradiated CuInSe 2 thin films. New J. Chem. 42, 11642–11652 (2018)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Y.S. Ocak, M.L. Zeggar, M.F. Genişel, N.U. Uzun, M.S. Aida, CO2 sensing behavior of vertically aligned Si Nanowire/ZnO structures. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 134, 106028 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. S. Sharma, R. Adalati, M. Sharma, S. Jindal, A. Kumar, G. Malik, R. Chandra, Single-step fabrication of di-titanium nitride thin-film flexible and biocompatible supercapacitor. Ceram. Int. 48, 34678–34687 (2022)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. P. Prabukanthan, S. Thamaraiselvi, G. Harichandran, Single step electrochemical deposition of p-type undoped and Co2+ doped FeS2 thin films and performance in heterojunction solid solar cells. J. Electrochem. Soc. 164, D581 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. R. Soukup, P. Prabukanthan, N. Ianno, A. Sarkar, C. Kamler, D. Sekora, Formation of pyrite (FeS2) thin films by thermal sulfurization of dc magnetron sputtered iron. J. Vac. Sci. Technol., A 29, 011001 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. P. Prabukanthan, R. Soukup, N. Ianno, A. Sarkar, Š Kment, H. Kmentova, C. Kamler, C. Exstrom, J. Olejníček, S. Darveau, Chemical bath deposition (CBD) of iron sulfide thin films for photovoltaic applications, crystallographic and optical properties 2010 35th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference. IEEE 2010, 002965–002969 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  19. S. Sahare, R.K. Choubey, G. Jadhav, T.M. Bhave, S. Mukherjee, S. Kumar, A comparative investigation of optical and structural properties of Cu-doped CdO-derived nanostructures. J. Supercond. Novel Magn. 30, 1439–1446 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. A.G. Imer, M. Gülcan, M. Çelebi, A. Tombak, Y.S. Ocak, Effects of the r-GO doping on the structural, optical and electrical properties of CdO nanostructured films by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 2111–2121 (2020)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. S. Kumar, H. Jeon, T. Kang, R. Seth, S. Panwar, S.K. Shinde, D. Waghmode, R.G. Saratale, R.K. Choubey, Variation in chemical bath pH and the corresponding precursor concentration for optimizing the optical, structural and morphological properties of ZnO thin films. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 30, 17747–17758 (2019)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. A. Kumar, D. Pednekar, S. Mukherjee, R.K. Choubey, Effect of deposition time and complexing agents on hierarchical nanoflake-structured CdS thin films. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 17055–17066 (2020)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. R. Choubey, S. Kumar, C. Lan, Shallow chemical bath deposition of ZnS buffer layer for environmentally benign solar cell devices. Adv. Nat. Sci. Nanosci. Nanotechnol. 5, 025015 (2014)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. M. Pérez-González, M. Morales-Luna, J. Santoyo-Salazar, H. Crotte-Ledesma, P. García-Tinoco, S. Tomás, Improved adsorption and photocatalytic removal of methylene blue by MoO3 thin films: Role of the sputtering power, film thickness, and sputtering working pressure. Catal. Today 360, 138–146 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Y.S. Ocak, Influence of substrate temperature on CuxSnSx+ 1 thin films prepared by Co-sputtering and H2S annealing. Mater. Res. Exp. 6, 126443 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. D. Devadiga, M. Selvakumar, P. Shetty, M. Santosh, Dye-sensitized solar cell for indoor applications: a mini-review. J. Electron. Mater. 5, 3187–3206 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. R. Güzel, Y.S. Ocak, ŞN. Karuk, A. Ersöz, R. Say, Light harvesting and photo-induced electrochemical devices based on bionanocage proteins. J. Power Sources 440, 227119 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. C. Bozkaplan, A. Tombak, M.F. Genişel, Y.S. Ocak, K. Akkilic, The influence of substrate temperature on RF sputtered CdS thin films and CdS/p-Si heterojunctions. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 58, 34–38 (2017)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. O. Agirseven, D. Rivella, J. Haggerty, P. Berry, K. Diffendaffer, A. Patterson, J. Kreb, J. Mangum, B. Gorman, J. Perkins, Crystallization of TiO2 polymorphs from RF-sputtered, amorphous thin-film precursors. AIP Adv. 10, 025109 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  30. Y.S. Ocak, M. Kulakci, R. Turan, T. Kilicoglu, O. Gullu, Analysis of electrical and photoelectrical properties of ZnO/p-InP heterojunction. J. Alloy. Compd. 509, 6631–6634 (2011)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. D. Yıldız, A. Karabulut, I. Orak, A. Turut, Effect of atomic-layer-deposited HfO 2 thin-film interfacial layer on the electrical properties of Au/Ti/n-GaAs Schottky diode. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 32, 10209–10223 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  32. K. Sasikumar, R. Bharathikannan, M. Raja, Effect of Annealing Temperature on Structural and Electrical Properties of Al/ZrO2/p-Si MIS Schottky Diodes. SILICON 11, 137–143 (2019)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. P. Cui, J. Zhang, M. Jia, G. Lin, L. Wei, H. Zhao, L. Gundlach, Y. Zeng, InAlN/GaN metal–insulator–semiconductor high-electron-mobility transistor with plasma enhanced atomic layer-deposited ZrO2 as gate dielectric. Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 59, 020901 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  34. I. Fasaki, A. Koutoulaki, M. Kompitsas, C. Charitidis, Structural, electrical and mechanical properties of NiO thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition. Appl. Surf. Sci. 257, 429–433 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. H. Tang, S. Ma, Y. Lv, Z. Li, W. Shen, Optimization of rear surface roughness and metal grid design in industrial bifacial PERC solar cells. Sol. Energy Mater. Sol. Cells 216, 110712 (2020)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. T. Salim, S. Sun, Y. Abe, A. Krishna, A.C. Grimsdale, Y.M. Lam, Perovskite-based solar cells: impact of morphology and device architecture on device performance. J. Mater. Chem. A 3, 8943–8969 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. A. Rittidech, S. Wantrong, S. Chommi, Preparation and characterization of zirconia ceramics with oxides addition. J. Ceram. Process. Res. 22, 221–225 (2021)

    Google Scholar 

  38. M.R. Gauna, M.S. Conconi, S. Gómez, G. Suárez, E.F. Aglietti, N.M. Rendtorff Birrer, Monoclinic-tetragonal zirconia quantification of commercial nanopowder mixtures by XRD and DTA. Ceramics-Silikáty 59, 318–325 (2015)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. H. Zhang, C. Ma, Q. Zhang, Scaling behavior and structure transition of ZrO2 films deposited by RF magnetron sputtering. Vacuum 83, 1311–1316 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. L. Liang, Y. Xu, D. Wu, Y. Sun, A simple sol–gel route to ZrO2 films with high optical performances. Mater. Chem. Phys. 114, 252–256 (2009)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. S.-M. Chang, R.-A. Doong, The effect of chemical states of dopants on the microstructures and band gaps of metal-doped ZrO2 thin films at different temperatures. J. Phys. Chem. B 108, 18098–18103 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Y. Gao, Y. Masuda, H. Ohta, K. Koumoto, Room-temperature preparation of ZrO2 precursor thin film in an aqueous peroxozirconium-complex solution. Chem. Mater. 16, 2615–2622 (2004)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. E.H. Rhoderick, R.H. Williams, Metal-semiconductor contacts, Clarendon press Oxford1988.

  44. I. Missoum, M. Benhaliliba, A. Chaker, Y. Ocak, C. Benouis, A novel device behavior of Ag/MgPc/n-GaAs/Au-Ge organic based Schottky diode. Synth. Met. 207, 42–45 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  45. S. Gupta, A. Kumar, S. Mukherjee, K.K. Kushwah, S.K. Mahobia, P. Patharia, A. Kushwaha, D. Yadav, U.K. Dwivedi, S. Kumar, Temperature-dependent study of the fabricated ZnS/p-Si heterojunction. Physica B 657, 414831 (2023)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. A. Kumar, S. Mukherjee, H. Sharma, U.K. Dwivedi, S. Kumar, R.K. Gangwar, R.K. Choubey, Role of deposition parameters on the properties of the fabricated heterojunction ZnS/p-Si Schottky diode. Phys. Scr. 97, 045819 (2022)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  47. A.G. Imer, Y.S. Ocak, Effect of light intensity and temperature on the current voltage characteristics of Al/SY/p-Si organic–inorganic heterojunction. J. Electron. Mater. 45, 5347–5355 (2016)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. A. Kumar, S. Mukherjee, S. Sahare, R.K. Choubey, Influence of deposition time on the properties of ZnS/p-Si heterostructures. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 122, 105471 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. M. Gökçen, Ş Altındal, M. Karaman, U. Aydemir, Forward and reverse bias current–voltage characteristics of Au/n-Si Schottky barrier diodes with and without SnO2 insulator layer. Physica B 406, 4119–4123 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  50. H. Norde, A modified forward I-V plot for Schottky diodes with high series resistance. J. Appl. Phys. 50, 5052–5053 (1979)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  51. A. Ugur, A.G. Imer, Y.S. Ocak, Electrical and photoelectrical characterization of an organic–inorganic heterojunction based on quinoline yellow dye. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 39, 569–574 (2015)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. A. Eroğlu, S. Demirezen, Y. Azizian-Kalandaragh, Ş Altındal, A comparative study on the electrical properties and conduction mechanisms of Au/n-Si Schottky diodes with/without an organic interlayer. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 14466–14477 (2020)

    Google Scholar 

  53. Ö. Güllü, A. Türüt, Electrical analysis of organic dye-based MIS Schottky contacts. Microelectron. Eng. 87, 2482–2487 (2010)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  54. D. Yildiz, H. Gullu, A. Sarilmaz, F. Ozel, A. Kocyigit, M. Yildirim, Dark and illuminated electrical characteristics of Si-based photodiode interlayered with CuCo5S8 nanocrystals. J. Mater. Sci.: Mater. Electron. 31, 935–948 (2020)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. A. Kumar, M. Kumar, V. Bhatt, D. Kim, S. Mukherjee, J.-H. Yun, R.K. Choubey, ZnS microspheres-based photoconductor for UV light-sensing applications. Chem. Phys. Lett. 763, 138162 (2021)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  56. A. Kumar, M. Kumar, V. Bhatt, S. Mukherjee, S. Kumar, H. Sharma, M. Yadav, S. Tomar, J.-H. Yun, R.K. Choubey, Highly responsive and low-cost ultraviolet sensor based on ZnS/p-Si heterojunction grown by chemical bath deposition. Sens. Actuators, A 33, 112988 (2021)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  57. A. Kumar, S. Mukherjee, H. Sharma, D.K. Rana, A. Kumar, R. Kumar, R.K. Choubey, Fabrication of low-cost and fast-response visible photodetector based on ZnS: Mn/p-Si heterojunction. Mater. Sci. Semicond. Process. 155, 107226 (2023)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  58. Y. Ocak, M. Genisel, T. Kılıçoğlu, Ta/Si Schottky diodes fabricated by magnetron sputtering technique. Microelectron. Eng. 87, 2338–2342 (2010)

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) through grant No. 635/2022.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Institute of Natural Applied Sciences, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey

    Masoud Giyathaddin Obaid

  2. Institute of Nanotechnology, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan

    Yusuf Selim Ocak & Borhan Aldeen Albiss

  3. Smart-Lab, Dicle University, Diyarbakir, Turkey

    Yusuf Selim Ocak

  4. Film Device Fabrication-Characterization and Application FDFCA Research Group USTOMB, 31130, Oran, Algeria

    Mostefa Benhaliliba

Authors
  1. Masoud Giyathaddin Obaid
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yusuf Selim Ocak
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Borhan Aldeen Albiss
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mostefa Benhaliliba
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

MGO and YSO performed the thin film deposition and formation of the device. YSO was responsible for supervising. MGO, YSO and BAA studied on analyze of the thin film. MGO, YSO, and MB characterize the device. All authors contributed to research strategy, the discussion, and the interpretation of the results and to the final form of the text and figures. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yusuf Selim Ocak.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

There are no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could affect the work reported herein.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Obaid, M.G., Ocak, Y.S., Albiss, B.A. et al. Electrical and photoelectrical characterization of Au/n-Si diode with sputtered ZrO2 interlayer. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 1768 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11160-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11160-9

Search

Navigation