Influence of swift heavy ion irradiation on electrical characteristics of Au/<i>n</i>-Si (1 0 0) Schottky barrier structure

Abstract

The influence of swift heavy (180 MeV 107Ag14+) ion irradiation on Au/n-Si Schottky diode characteristics has been analysed using in situ current–voltage (I–V) characterization. The values of the Schottky barrier height (SBH), the ideality factor and series resistance Rs for each irradiation fluence have been obtained from the forward bias I–V characteristics. For an unirradiated diode, the SBH and ideality factor were 0.74 ± 0.01 eV and 1.71, respectively. The barrier height decreases to 0.69 ± 0.01 eV as the fluence increases to a value of 1 × 1011 ions cm−2. It is found that after an irradiation fluence of 1 × 1011 ions cm−2 the SBH remains immune to further irradiation up to a fluence of 5 × 1012 ions cm−2. The observed behaviour is interpreted on the basis of energy loss mechanisms of energetic ions at the metal–semiconductor interface and irradiation-induced defects.