The Aluminum P-Silicon Schottky Barrier—Its Barrier Height and Spectral Response under Low Irradiance

Abstract

Schottky barriers are formed by deposition of thin aluminum film onto p-silicon wafer with a very thin interfacial layer of natural oxide. The barrier height has been measured to be arrouud 0.80v, which is substautially greater than the formerly reported value by other investigators. This is believed due to the thin interfacial layer of oxide saturates the dangling bonds on the semiconductor surface and results in a less density of surface states. The spectral response of the shallow surface barrier under low irradiance is studied with a monochromatic light source from wavelength 0.4μto 0.9μ. The measued result, which is quite different from that of a conventional p-n junction photovoltaic cell, shows no diminution in the infrared region, and a quantum efficiency higher than 75% is obtained.