Reduction of Schottky Barrier Height at Graphene/Germanium Interface with Surface Passivation

Abstract

Fermi level pinning at metal/semiconductor interfaces forbids a total control over the Schottky barrier height. 2D materials may be an interesting route to circumvent this problem. As they weakly interact with their substrate through Van der Waals forces, deposition of 2D materials avoids the formation of the large density of state at the semiconductor interface often responsible for Fermi level pinning. Here, we demonstrate the possibility to alleviate Fermi-level pinning and reduce the Schottky barrier height by the association of surface passivation of germanium with the deposition of 2D graphene.