Metal-semiconductor contacts are a vital part of semiconductor devices as they can form a Schottky barrier or an Ohmic contact. The nature of the contact plays an important role in determining the electrical and physical characteristics of the device and hence is of paramount importance in the operation of the device. In the current work we report the design, fabrication, and current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of microbolometers, a type of infrared detector where the change in temperature changes the resistance of the sensing layer. Eight different types of microbolometers were fabricated using a-Si x Ge 1−x or a-Si x Ge 1−x O y sensing layers and Ti, Cr, Al, Au, Ni, or Ni 0.80 Cr 0.20 metals contacts. It has been observed that bolometers with an a-Si 0.15 Ge 0.85 (Si was lightly p-doped) sensing layer formed a Schottky contact with Ti, Au, Cr, and Al contact metals, while bolometers with a-Si 0.15 Ge 0.85 (Si was heavily n-doped) sensing layers formed an Ohmic contact with Au. For microbolometers with a Si 0.15 Ge 0.85 O 0.039 sensing layer, both Ni and Ni 0.80 Cr 0.20 contact metals formed the Ohmic contact. For a-Si x Ge 1−x and a-Si x Ge 1−x O y microbolometers, Au and Ni 0.80 Cr 0.20 were used as the absorber layers, respectively. The I-V characteristics of the microbolometers were analyzed with a thermionic emission model. A linear dependence on the Ge composition was approximated to find the effective Richardson constant. The theory predicts Richardson constants of 112 and 50 A/cm 2 K 2 for Si and Ge, respectively. Barrier heights of all devices are calculated and the reasons for the formation of the Ohmic and Schottky contacts are discussed. PACS No.: 07.57.Kp. Résumé : Les contacts metal-semiconducteur sont une partie vitale des dispositifs semiconducteurs, parce qu'ils peuvent former des barrières de Schottky ou des contacts ohmiques. La nature du contact est importante pour déterminer les propriétés électriques et physiques du dispositif et donc est d'une importance capitale dans l'opération du dispositif. Nous présentons ici le design, la fabrication et les caractéristiques courant-voltage (
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