Transport mechanisms in porous silicon

Abstract

The current transport mechanism through porous silicon ͑PS͒ films fabricated from 8 to 12 ⍀ cm p-type silicon (p-Si) substrates has been investigated using current-voltage I(V) measurements on metal/PS/p-Si/metal devices in the temperature range of 77-300 K. The characteristics for all devices show a rectifying behavior with ideality factor very close to unity. A value of 0.7 eV is obtained for the barrier height at the interface between PS and bulk p-Si at room temperature and the barrier height is found to increase with rising temperature. A band model is proposed in order to explain the observed characteristics.

Specific contact resistance and carrier tunneling properties of the silver metal/porous silicon/p-Si ohmic contact structure

“…The slope of the line gives˚B = 0.82 eV and m*/m = 0.421 and C 1 = 4.2 × 10 10 cm −3/2 eV −1 . This value of˚B is found to agree well with the similar reports of 0.8 eV for the Ag metal/PS/p-Si contact structure [10] and 0.81 eV reported for different metal/semiconductor systems [30]. The value of the constant C 1 can be compared with the theoretical value of C 1 ∼ = 7.0 × 10 10 cm −3/2 eV −1 for the silicon [29] and previously reported value of C 1 = 1.45 × 10 10 cm −3/2 eV −1 for the Ag metal/PS/p-Si contact structure [18].…”

“…It shows that rectification behavior observed for the I-V characteristics in these devices has been interpreted in terms of the existence of a Schottky barrier between the metal and porous silicon interface [7,8]. However, the rectification has also been attributed to the interfacial properties of the porous silicon/p-Si junction [9][10][11]. Different mechanisms such as thermionic emission or carrier diffusion across the barrier or even the carrier tunneling mechanism, etc.…”

Electrodeposition of Fe–Co Alloys into Nanoporous p-type Silicon: Influence of the Electrolyte Composition

“…[34][35][36][37][38][39] In many works, it is assumed that the carriers are transported by diffusion from the substrate to the PS. [34][35][36][37][38][39] In many works, it is assumed that the carriers are transported by diffusion from the substrate to the PS.…”

Band edge discontinuities and carrier transport inc-Si/porous silicon heterojunctions

“…The attractive optoelectronic properties of porous silicon (PS) along with the low cost fabrication possibilities have paved new ways for the development of this photoluminescent material [1,2,3]. While the optical properties of PS have been extensively studied, the electrical properties and conduction mechanisms, though of prime import, still have some contentious issues associated with them [4,5,6,7,8,9]. Differences in structural characteristics of PS and in the multijunction properties of PS based nanostructures give rise to the observed diversity of electrical properties [10].…”