Fabrication and Electrical Characterization of a Planar n+-PbSe Schottky Diode

Abstract

The fabrication of a planar n+-PbSe Schottky diode using magnetron sputtering and its subsequent comprehensive characterization are reported. A strong atomic Argon peak was achieved at 751.09 nm during co-sputtering of PbSe and Ni targets. Doping carrier concentration of 1.71x10¹⁹ cm⁻³ was obtained with the n+PbSe semiconductor. By studying the temperature-dependent current-voltage (I-V) characteristics across a range from 300 to 400 K, the diode’s ideality factor, barrier height, and Richardson constant were precisely obtained. This innovative analysis describes the forward and reverse biases, showing how temperature influences these important diode properties. The ideality factor markedly decreased from 3.10 to 1.45 as temperatures increased, signaling a move toward optimal diode functionality. Concurrently, the barrier height slightly rose from 0.44 eV to 0.54 eV in forward bias and from 0.61 eV to 0.77 eV in reverse bias, illustrating the diode’s proper thermal properties. Additionally, there was a substantial increase in the saturation current, which rose from 4.69x10-6 A to 2.25x10-5 A with the temperature change from 300 to 400 K. This result described the diode’s sensitivity to temperature variations, further highlighting its temperature dependence. The Richardson constant, calculated at 3.65x10-6 A/cm²K², fell substantially below the theoretical expectation due to potential inhomogeneities and fluctuations at the Metal-Semiconductor (MS) interface.