On the issue of ohmicity of Schottky contacts

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the conditions under which Schottky contacts can be made ohmic, considering a generalized model that includes thermionic and recombination currents, and compares these conditions to p-n junctions.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized model for Schottky contacts that accounts for both thermionic and recombination currents, deriving criteria for ohmicity.

Findings

Conditions for Schottky contact ohmicity differ from p-n junctions.

Derived criteria for low injection level and ohmicity in silicon-based contacts.

The model provides a more comprehensive understanding of current mechanisms in Schottky contacts.

Abstract

An analysis is made of the conditions for ohmic contacts realization in the case of Schottky contacts. Based on the classical notions about the mechanisms of current flow, we consider the generalized model of Schottky contact that takes into account the thermionic current of majority charge carriers and recombination current of minority charge carriers in Schottky contacts with a dielectric gap. An analysis of the results given by that model made it possible to obtain ohmicity criteria for Schottky contacts and compare the conditions for low injection level and ohmicity of Schottky contacts in the case of silicon-based contacts. It is shown that conditions for Schottky contact ohmicity do not coincide with those for p-n junctions.