THE CURRENT–VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE Au/MBEn-GaAs SCHOTTKY DIODES IN A WIDE TEMPERATURE RANGE

Abstract

The Au/MBE n- GaAs Schottky diodes have been fabricated by us. The slope of the conventional ln (I0/T2) versus (kT)-1 plotted in the temperature range of 120–350 K has given a Richardson constant (RC) of 7.69 A (cmK)-2 which is in close agreement with the value of 8.16 A/cm2 K 2 known for n-type GaAs . The barrier height (BH) value in 40–160 K range has decreased obeying to Gaussian distribution (GD) model of the BH based on thermionic emission current theory. The modified RC plot according to the GD model has given a RC value of 2.45 A (cmK)-2 or a value of 2.38 A (cmK)-2 by taking into account the temperature dependence of the standard deviation. Therefore, we have modified the Richardson's plot using the temperature dependent values of the effective area of the patches introduced by lateral inhomogeneity of the BHs and we have obtained a RC value of 8.10 A (cmK)-2.