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Chapter (4) (MS Contacts)

Metal-semiconductor contacts can be either rectifying (Schottky barrier diodes) or non-rectifying (ohmic contacts). Schottky diodes allow current to flow more easily in one direction due to an asymmetric barrier formed at the interface. They have fast switching speeds but also higher leakage currents than PN junction diodes. Ohmic contacts are formed by heavily doping the semiconductor to make the depletion layer thin enough for tunneling. Metal silicides provide low resistivity, stability at high temperatures, and adhesion needed for interconnects in modern integrated circuits.

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Ahmed Saleh
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42 views19 pages

Chapter (4) (MS Contacts)

Metal-semiconductor contacts can be either rectifying (Schottky barrier diodes) or non-rectifying (ohmic contacts). Schottky diodes allow current to flow more easily in one direction due to an asymmetric barrier formed at the interface. They have fast switching speeds but also higher leakage currents than PN junction diodes. Ohmic contacts are formed by heavily doping the semiconductor to make the depletion layer thin enough for tunneling. Metal silicides provide low resistivity, stability at high temperatures, and adhesion needed for interconnects in modern integrated circuits.

Uploaded by

Ahmed Saleh
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Chapter 4

Metal Semiconductor Contacts


✓ M-S point contact diodes are the first practical semiconductor devices.

✓ The first point contact diodes had non-reproducible characteristics.

✓ They were replaced by PN junction diodes for most practical


applications.

✓ Today’s IC technology has permitted high quality, reproducible M-S


contacts.

✓ Two types of M-S junctions


− Non-rectifying junction or (Ohmic Contact) having a low ohmic
drop regardless of polarity of applied voltage
− Rectifying junctions or (Schottky Barrier Diode) allowing current
flow in one direction only
Ideal Schottky Barrier
✓ Definitions :
– Work Function  is the amount of work required to bring an
electron from the Fermi level of a material to the vacuum
level
– Electron Affinity  is the energy required to release an
electron from the bottom of the conduction band to the
vacuum level

✓ When two materials of different work functions are


brought into contact, electrons flow from the material
having lower work function to that of higher one till the
Fermi level of the M-S contact is aligned.

✓ Assume an M-S contact is formed of an n-type


semiconductor and a metal such that m > s
Thermal equilibrium case:
➔ Electrons flow from semiconductor to metal leaving behind
a depletion layer of width xd full of positive fixed ions.
Fermi level in semiconductor
is lowered by q(m - s)
➔ Electrons accumulate as a sheet charge on the metal side
➔ A built-in potential o = m - s is formed across the junction
and is supported by the depletion layer charge
✓ The barrier for electrons to flow from
metal to semiconductor is q b = q(m
-  s) No Bias
– This is called the (Schottky Barrier)

✓ If a negative voltage V is applied to S


w.r.t. M, the semiconductor-to-metal
potential decreases to o – V while b
is unchanged Fwd Bias
– Electrons flow easily from S to M
 Fwd. Bias

✓ If a positive voltage VR is applied to S


w.r.t. M, the potential barrier on the
semi-conductor side is increased to o
+ VR Rev Bias
– Flow of electrons is stopped in both
directions  Rev. Bias
Metal- P-type s.c. contact
Assignment
✓ The contact of metal with p-type semiconductor with work function
Φm< Φs causes bands to bend down toward the interface.

✓ The majority carriers in this case are holes.

qm
qs

q b
q o
q b = qs + Eg - qm

o = s - m
Capacitance Voltage Characteristics

✓ With uniform doping, the depletion layer width is given by :

2 s  o (o +V R )
Xd =
qN d

✓ Where Nd is the doping concentration, VR is the reverse bias.


✓ Therefore the capacitance of the M-S junction is given by :

 s o A q  s o N d
C = = A
Xd 2(o +V R )
✓ This can be re-written as :

1 2
= (o +V R )
C 2
q  s o N d A 2
By plotting 1/C2 versus VR we get a
1 2
straight line = (o +V R )
C 2 q  s o N d A 2
– The built-in potential o is directly
obtained from the intercept
– The doping concentration Nd is
calculated from the slope
– Once o is known, the barrier height
b can be calculated from:
b = o +V n
Ec − E f kT N
Vn = = ln c
q q Nd
M-S contact I-V Characteristics
✓ A Fwd bias reduces the potential barrier in the depletion layer ; as a
result, electrons flow from S to M by two mechanisms of conduction :
– First by Diffusion through the depletion layer with a velocity vD, then
– By Emission over the barrier from S to M with a velocity vE

✓ Electron Current is
– Diffusion limited if vE >> vD
– Emission limited if vE << vD

✓ In most practical Schottky diodes, at room temperature, current is


governed by the emission process over the barrier ; i.e. diffusion is
much faster than emission
➔Diffusion effect across the depletion layer is neglected

✓ Emitted electrons reach the metal with an energy higher than the metal
electrons with qb. These (hot) electrons reach equilibrium with other
carriers in a very short time (picoseconds)
Thermionic emission in an M-S contact

−q (b −V F )
I F
* 2
= AA T exp[ ] = I oeV F /V T
kT
* 2 −b
I o = AA T exp( )
kT

Where VT = kT/q and A* is the effective Richardson const. taking into account the effective
mass

Note: At no bias, thermionic emission occurs in both directions and cancel


out.
Rev bias :
– When a reverse bias is applied, a
reverse current Io flows from S to
M (electrons from M to S).

– The total current is given by:

I = I (eV
o
F / nV T
− 1)

Where n is the ideality factor ; equals to 1


For ideal Schottky diodes

Current density vs voltage for two


Schottky Diodes ; Tungsten-Si and
Tungsten-GaAs
Comparison between PN junction and Schottky contact

V>0
V>0 V<0

V<0

✓ Barrier is not pinned ✓ Barrier from metal side is pinned


✓ Electrons with zero kinetic energy can ✓ Electrons from metal must jump over
slide down negative barrier barrier
✓ Current is limited by how fast minority ✓ Current is limited by speed of jumping
carriers can be removed (diffusion rate) electrons
✓ Both electrons and hole currents ✓ Unipolar majority carrier device.
important.
✓The reverse saturation current of a Schottky diode is 100 to 1000 times larger
than that of a PN junction which accounts for a larger leakage current.

✓In the forward mode, the I-V characteristics of a silicon Schottky diode shows
strong conduction at 0.2-0.3 V, compared to 0.7 V in a silicon PN junction
diode.

✓ Schottky diodes are capable of very fast switching because their operation is
based on majority carriers (unlike PN junction diodes where device operation is
slowed down by storage and recombination of excess minority carriers).

✓ Majority carriers have a relaxation time on the order of ten picoseconds, which
allows for operation at frequencies up to tens of Gigahertz.
Ohmic Contacts
✓ Ohmic contacts formed using metal semiconductor junctions, are not
symmetric around zero due to different barriers in reverse and forward
biases

✓ The opposite case to the Schottky barrier is Ohmic contact, where for the n-
type semiconductor-metal junction, Φm < Φn, and for the p-type
semiconductor-metal junction, Φm > Φp.

Φm > Φp Φm < Φn
✓ Practically, all ohmic contacts are formed by heavily doping the
semiconductor material (~1019 cm-3)
– Depletion layer becomes very thin
– Electrons tunnel through

To achieve an Ohmic contact


1. Φm < S for n-type s.c.
2. Φm > S+Eg for p-type s.c.
3. Very large doping
Metal Silicides and Interconnects
✓ Historically, Al was used as the gate metal and to form inter-connects of
integrated circuits
✓ Unfortunately, Al-Si system has a low eutectic temperature (~577 oC) at
which Al and Si atoms inter-diffuse at the interface.
– This leads to leakage currents especially in shallow junctions
✓ Moreover, modern technology (electron-beam evaporation, reactive ion
etching, etc.) require high annealing temperatures
✓ Metal Silicides are compounds formed from Si & some metals
– They are found to be most suitable for interconnects because of :
• Low resistivity
• High temperature stability
• Strongly adhesive
• Easy to etch

✓ Examples of Silicides are those compounds formed from Si and


refractory metals such as Mo (molybdenum), Ti (Titanium), W
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