Tuning of Schottky barrier height of Al/n-Si by electron beam irradiation

The effect of electron beam irradiation (EBI) on Al/n-Si Schottky diode has been studied by I–V characterization at room temperature. The behavior of the metal-semiconductor (MS) interface is analyzed by means of variations in the MS contact parameters such as, Schottky barrier height (Φ_B), ideality factor (n) and series resistance (R_s). These parameters were found to depend on the EBI dose having a fixed incident beam of energy 7.5 MeV. At different doses (500, 1000, 1500 kGy) of EBI, the Schottky contacts were prepared and extracted their contact parameters by applying thermionic emission and Cheung models. Remarkably, the tuning of Φ_B was observed as a function of EBI dose. The improved n with increased Φ_B is seen for all the EBI doses. As a consequence of which the thermionic emission is more favored. However, the competing transport mechanisms such as space charge limited emission, tunneling and tunneling through the trap states were ascribed due to n > 1. The analysis of XPS spectra have shown the presence of native oxide and increased radiation induced defect states. The thickness variation in the MS interface contributing to Schottky contact behavior is discussed. This study explains a new technique to tune Schottky contact parameters by metal deposition on the electron beam irradiated n-Si wafers.