A current-voltage model for double Schottky barrier devices

TL;DR

This paper introduces a unified current-voltage model for double Schottky barrier devices, enabling accurate simulation and parameter extraction for various nanostructured semiconductor contacts.

Contribution

It presents a single equation model that describes the electrical behavior of Schottky contacts, applicable to both ideal and non-ideal barriers, and validated with experimental data.

Findings

Successfully reproduces experimental I-V characteristics of 2D nanosheets.

Allows direct estimation of Schottky barrier height and ideality factor.

Applicable to a range of nanostructured semiconductor devices.

Abstract

Schottky barriers are often formed at the semiconductor/metal contacts and affect the electrical behaviour of semiconductor devices. In particular, Schottky barriers have been playing a major role in the investigation of the electrical properties of mono and two-dimensional nanostructured materials, although their impact on the current-voltage characteristics has been frequently neglected or misunderstood. In this work, we propose a single equation to describe the current-voltage characteristics of two-terminal semiconductor devices with Schottky contacts. We apply the equation to numerically simulate the electrical behaviour for both ideal and non-ideal Schottky barriers. The proposed model can be used to directly estimate the Schottky barrier height and the ideality factor. We apply it to perfectly reproduce the experimental current-voltage characteristics of ultrathin molybdenum disulphide or tungsten diselenide nanosheets and tungsten disulphide nanotubes. The model constitutes a useful tool for the analysis and the extraction of relevant transport parameters in any two-terminal device with Schottky contacts.