3.

Metal-Semiconductor Contacts
3.1 Introduction Metal-semiconductor contacts have been known to have rectifying properties since 187 . !he earliest radio receivers used a metal point contact to a galena "#b$% crystal& while in the valve era& power supplier commonly used 'metal( "actually metal-metal o)ide% rectifiers. !he theory of metal-semiconductor contacts is attributed to $chottky "1*38%. !oday& specially manufactured $chottky diodes are often used in rectification since they have a smaller forward voltage drop than #-+ ,unction rectifiers. !here is also the problem of making metallic contacts to semiconductors& where a rectifying action is not wanted. !he $chottky theory also permits the identification of the conditions necessary for the preparation fo ohmic "as opposed to rectifying% metal contacts on semiconductors. 3.- !he metal-semiconductor ,unction !he basic re.uirement for a metal-semiconductor is the same as for a #-+ ,unction/ the 0ermi levels must line up. 1owever& the problem now is in establishing reference levels with respect to which these levels are measured. !he reference level is the 'vacuum( level. 0or a metal& the energy re.uired to remove an electron into the 'vacuum( is given by the work function m/
Evac E F = qm

"m in volts% Evac

qm EF "metal%

electrons

qs Ec qVn EF "semiconductor%
"n-type shown%

Ev

!he e.uivalent measure for the semiconductor is the electron affinity s . $ince a semiconductor will always have some electrons in the conduction band& a 'photoelectric effect( e)periment will measure the difference between EC & not EF & and the vacuum level. !he true work function for a semiconductor is/

s 2 3s 4Vn

(qVn = EC EF%

5)actly as in the case of the #+ ,unction& diffusion currents flow across the ,unction "to e.ualise the 0ermi levels%. Vbi=m s

Vb=m - s

= m-s+Vn EF

W 6lthough the situation is superficially similar to that of the p-n ,unction& there are several important differences. !he band-bending& and thus the depletion region& lies entirely within the semiconductor as the metal cannot be depleted. 6lso that although the currents are described as diffusion currents& the physical situation is very different to that in a semiconductor and so the usual diffusion e.uations "in particular the 5instein relations% cannot be used. !he metal-+ type semiconductor ,unction is particularly important because both diffusion currents are with electrons - no holes are involved. $uch a ,unction is therefore unipolar. !his results in a faster device& not only because electrons are normally more mobile than holes& but also because minority carrier recombination does not

occur. In a metal-# type semiconductor ,unction& the forward current is carried entirely by holes in,ected from the semiconductor into the metal. 6lthough the resulting devices are also very fast because hole lifetime in the metal is negligible& they are not truly unipolar devices since recombination still occurs. 5)periment shows that Vbi "and Vb% are largely independent of the nature of the metal and hence of m. !his is because the interaction takes place with surface states in the semiconductor& and not with the bulk metal. 7epletion layer width and ,unction capacitance can be obtained in a similar way as for the p-n ,unction& using Vbi or& under bias& VD=Vbi V . $imilar arguments also show .ualitatively that such a ,unction is rectifying.

3.3 8unction currents 9onsidering a metal-+ type semiconductor ,unction& a forward bias consists of making the metal positive and the semiconductor negative& which lowers the barrier. !his increases the electron current in,ected from the semiconductor into the metal without much affecting the reverse 'uphill( current from the metal. :everse bias raises the barrier and decreases the in,ected electron current. 6gain& an e)ponential dependence on diffusion potential "VD = Vbi - V % is obtained. 7iscussion of the current through the ,unction is however very different from the bipolar ,unction. !he main contribution to the current through the ,unction is caused by electrons thermally overcoming or tunnelling through the barrier Vb . !hermionic

emission is the most important contribution to the device current under moderate electric fields. !he electron energy distribuition is .uasi-e)ponential& so even a small reduction in barrier height by means of a forward bias can increase this current significantly. thermionic emission qVb field-induced emission EC

!he height of the potential barrier is given by/

qVb = q(m s ) n - type qVb = E ! (m s ) p - type

and& if positive& results in the behaviour noted above. If ;ero or negative& the ,unction is not rectifying and is referred to as an ohmic contact "discussed later%.

3.

!he $chottky effect

!he barrier in the metal-semiconductor ,unction is further reduced when the diode is forward biased by the "chott#y effect. $m q #5 of e,ected electron $

resultant #5 curve

-qE$

!his lowering can be evaluated using the 'image charge( method "see <lakemore pp 1*--1*3& or $;e pp -=>--=1%.
$m = = q

s E
qE

!he effect is actually stronger in a metal-vacuum surface rather than a metal-semiconductor ,unction "because of the high s% and results in fiel% emission "the cold-cathode effect%. 5ven in semiconductors& however& a useful reduction of 1--? can occur. 3.= !hermionic emission theory !hermionic emission across a metal-semiconductor ,unction is similar to thermionic emission from a metal into the vacuum& e)cept

that the appropriate electron density functions and electric field values are used. !he vacuum case is covered in <lakemore pp. 1881*1. !he case for a $chottky ,unction is considered here. !he current density across such a barrier is given by the number of electrons with energies sufficient to overcome the barrier.

n(E) qVbi

EF qV b

EC qVn
' s m =

E F +qV &

qv $ %n

where v$ is the velocity of the electrons in the direction of the ,unction& and
%n = ( " E % F " E %%E

((E) being the density of states and F(E) the 0ermi-7irac distribution function. @sing the usual appro)imations for F(E) and ((E)/
( - mB ) %n = h3
3A -

( E EF ) 1 A - e

E EF #*

%E

and if we further assume that all the energy of the conduction-band electrons is keinetic "free-electron appro)imation%

(E E ) =
C

1 -

mBv -

where v is the total electron velocity "v+=v$++ vy++v,+%

$ubstituting&
( -mB ) %n = h3
3A E EC

e
3

#*
-

EC E F - #*

%E

Bv qV mB m n = - e - #* e #* ( v - ) %v h

@sing the standard transformation v+%v=%v$ %vy%v,-& and letting vo$ be the velocity corresponding to ,ust overcoming the barrier&
3 mBv y - #*

' sm

mB qVn = -q e #* h

vo$

v$e

mBv $ - #*

%v $ v y e

%v y v , e

mBv , - #*

%v ,

mBvo$ n qmB # - - qV #* - #* = * e e h3

since the integrals in vy and v, vanish. :ecall that 1 B & = Vbi + Vn = m vo$ and that once bias is applied& Vbi has to be replaced by Vbi - V & so/
' sm =
B B

*- e

q& #*

qV #*

qmB # - = h3

which has the re.uired e)ponential dependence on V . !he total current is/

' = ' s m ' ms

where 'm-.s is the reverse current flow that is largely unaffected by the applied potential. $ince '(V =/)=/- it follows that/
' m = >% s = ' s m "V

so/

' =

* -e

q & #*

qV e #* 1

Ce therefore have a law similar to that for the ,unction diode/

qV ' = ' " e #* 1 '" =
BB

*- e

q&( #*

where the factors 00 and &( differ from the 0 and & to take into account the factors such as the $chottky effect. !he advantage of $chottky diodes over p-n ,unction diodes in circuit applications stem from their higher speed "no minority carriers% and lower forward voltage drop "small barrier height%. Dn the other hand they suffer from low reverse breakdown voltages and greater temperature sensitivity of leakage currents. 3.E Dhmic contacts a metal-semiconductor !he reali;ation that C B contact may rectifying E E a metal wire into a makes the matter of passing a current from E semiconductor chip a complicated matter.E Df course& the e.uations/ qVb = q(m s ) n - type V B qVb = E ! (m s ) p - type n -ty p e S e m ic o n d u c to r
m n F m c Fn v

M eta l

B e o re C o n ta ct
A c c barrier u m u l a t i o n disappears R e g io n B u l k S eif m i c o n d1 o r for an n-type implies that the m u c t s O h m ic C o n ta c t semiconductor for e)ample. $uch a contact is characteri;ed by an C B accumulation "rather than depletion% region which is essentially an E E E ohmic conductor. E V B F
F m c F n v

M e ta l

n -ty p e S e m ic o n d u c to r

te r C o n ta c t

0ig. =. 3/ Chen a metal with a smaller workfunction than an n-type semiconductor are put into contact& the resulting ,unction is an ohmic contact in the sense that it does not limit the current flow.
From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, Second Edition, S.O. Kasap ( McGraw-Hill, 2002) http://Materials. sas!."a

6lthough this is a general mechanism& metals with suitable work functions are neither easy to find nor necessarily convenient to use. 1owever& given that a $chottky diode has a smaller forward voltage than a p-n ,unction& the e)istence of a $chottky diode in series with a p-n ,unction diode can be neglected. In addition& the properties of the $chottky contact can be degraded "as a diode% to ensure a more ohmic-like behaviour. 6s the doping level is increased& the depletion region becomes narrower. !his results in a large tunnelling current "e.uivalent to Gener breakdown in a p-n ,unction%. Metal-semiconductor contacts that are not re.uired to be rectifying are therefore made to very heavily doped regions& so that the breakdown voltage of the contact is small enough to be ignored in comparison with the voltage across the device itself. +ote that this happens naturally with alloyed ,unctions& but has to be specially made with diffusion processes.

3 increasing doping levels

V

3.7

!hermoelectric coolers

6lthough current can flow freely across an ohmic contact& there is still a small energy difference between the electron levels on the two sides of the ,unction. !ypically& this energy is given off H or absorbed H from the bulk material as heat. 9onsideration of the energy diagram for a metal H n-type contact above& electrons must gain energy as they travel from the metal into the semiconductor& so heat is absorbed and the ,unction cools. 9onversely& when electrons travel from the semiconductor to the metal they lose energy and the ,unction warms up. :ecall that conventional current flow is opposite to the electron flow. !his of course happens at any ,unction between materials with different work functions "it is the thermoelectric& or 2eltier& effect% but is particular useful in semiconductors not only because the energy differences are larger but also because semiconductors come

in two types and the energy differences can be arranged to add& rather than subtract as they do in metal-metal ,unctions. !he energy carried by one electron across a ,unction is the sum of the change in potential energy and the thermal kinetic energy of the electron& which for an n-type semiconductor is/
4 = EC EFm + 3 #* -

1ence the 2eltier Coefficient between a metal and a semiconductor is/

4 1 = ( s m + 3 #* ) 3 e

Electrical #nsulation $%ood &eat Conductor'

Body to (e Cooled $&eat Source' I eh)

Metal

I
p-"ype Semiconductor

n-"ype Semiconductor

Metal

&eat Sink

!C Supply 0ig. =. E/ 9ross section of a typical thermoelectric cooler.

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, Second Edition, S.O. Kasap ( McGraw-Hill, 2002) http://Materials. sas!."a

&eat A(sor(ed $Cold Side' Electrical #nsulator $Ceramic'

p n p n p n p n n

p-"ype Semiconductor n-"ype Semiconductor Electrical Conductor $Copper'

+ositi,e $)'

-egati,e $-' &eat Re*ected $&ot Side'

0ig. =. 7/ !ypical structure of a commercial thermoelectric cooler

From Principles of Electronic Materials and Devices, Second Edition, S.O. Kasap ( McGraw-Hill, 2002) http://Materials. sas!."a