Extraction of the Schottky parameters in metal-semiconductor-metal diodes from a single current-voltage measurement

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to extract Schottky contact parameters from a single I-V measurement of MSM diodes with asymmetric barriers, using the thermionic emission model and derivative analysis.

Contribution

It introduces a novel technique to determine Schottky parameters from a single I-V curve, simplifying the characterization process.

Findings

Parameters can be extracted when a local maximum is observed in the derivative of I-V.

The method accurately determines zero-bias barrier heights and series resistance.

Applicable to MSM diodes with asymmetric Schottky barriers.

Abstract

In order to develop a method to extract the parameters of the two inherent Schottky contacts from a single current-voltage (I-V) characteristic curve, the I-V characteristics of metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) diodes with asymmetric Schottky barrier heights are theoretically investigated using the thermionic emission model. The MSM diode structure is commonly used because an additional MS interface is required for the electrical characterization of MS diodes. A finite charge-injection barrier is generally formed at the additional interface. When a local maximum was detected in the first-order derivative of the measured I-V characteristics for a MSM diode, the parameters for the Schottky contacts, the zero-bias barrier heights of both MS interfaces, the series resistance of the MSM diode and the effective ideality factor for the MS diode with a higher barrier could be extracted using this method.