A comparative study of Schottky barrier heights and charge transport mechanisms in 3C, 4H, and 6H silicon carbide polytypes
Fayssal Mekaret, Abdelaziz Rabehi, Baya Zebentout, Shahrazade Tizi, Abdelmalek Douara, Stefano Bellucci, Mawloud Guermoui, Z. Benamara, El‐Sayed M. El‐kenawy, Marwa M. Eid, Amel Ali Alhussan
Abstract
This study undertakes a comparative analysis of Schottky diodes using three prominent SiC polytypes (3C, 4H, and 6H). The comparison involves meticulous calculations of the Schottky barrier resulting from the metal/SiC interface for each polytype assessed in both practical and theoretical scenarios. Specifically, the barrier height (ΦB) is systematically plotted against the metal work function (ΦM) across a range of metal work functions from 3.65 to 5.65 eV. Furthermore, the investigation extends to the saturation currents of three distinct charge transport models for each SiC polytype: thermionic current (TE), thermionic field emission, and field emission. Initial analyses plot saturation currents as a function of concentration within a temperature range of 100–500 K. Subsequent examinations plot saturation currents as a function of temperature across a concentration gradient from 1014 to 1020 cm−3. The comparison between the activation energy and thermal energy at standard room temperature (T = 300 K) yielded results consistent with theoretical predictions, affirming the robustness and applicability of each model within its dominant range.