Electrical study of Schottky barrier heights on atomically clean and air-exposed <i>n</i>-InP(110) surfaces

Abstract

We report here a systematic study of the electronic properties of Schottky barrier diodes fabricated on atomically clean, as well as air-exposed n-InP (110) surfaces. Using the current-voltage (I-V) measuring technique, we found the barrier heights of 0.33 eV for Ni, Al, Sn, Mn, 0.43 eV for Pd, Cu, Au, Cr, and 0.54 eV for Ag. Contrary to earlier reports based on a limited amount of data, the results of this study do not show a simple relationship between the chemical reactivity and the Schottky barrier height. The large differences between the electrical characteristics of diodes prepared on clean surfaces and those prepared on air-exposed surfaces were also not found.