Improved ohmic contacts for <i>p</i>-type ZnSe and related <i>p</i>-on-<i>n</i> diode structures

Abstract

The problem of obtaining ohmic contacts for p-type ZnSe is related to the deep valence band of ZnSe. We have addressed this problem by employing an epitaxial layer of the semimetal HgSe to decrease the interfacial energy barrier, or valence band offset, to about 0.6 eV. This has resulted in improved ohmic contacts for p-type ZnSe films and related diode structures.