Understanding and controlling heterojunction band discontinuities

Niles, David W.; Colavita, E.; Margaritondo, G.; Perfetti, P.; Capozi, M.

doi:10.1116/1.573765

Cited by 33 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…There are numerous examples of such effects in different kinds of surfaces and heterointerfaces. Just to give a few examples, formation of an ultra-thin Al intra-layer in ZnSe/Ge heterostructures can increase the valence band offset by more than 0.2 eV [27,28]. Hydrogen was shown to play a crucial role at semiconductor surfaces.…”

Section: Application To the A-si:h/c-si Interfacementioning

confidence: 98%

Band Lineup Theories and the Determination of Band Offsets from Electrical Measurements

Kleider

2012

Physics and Technology of Amorphous-Crystalline Heterostructure Silicon Solar Cells

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Abstract. Semiconductor heterojunctions have been used in the last decades to build devices with enhanced electrical or optoelectrical properties compared to those of equivalent homojunction devices. Examples of heterojunction devices are encountered in laser applications using band gap engineering possibilities in crystalline III-V compounds, and in bipolar transistors in crystalline silicon based electronics. More recently, heterojunctions formed between hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) and crystalline silicon (c-Si) were introduced for the fabrication of silicon solar cells. The main advantage of heterojunctions over homojunctions is due to the band offsets that can provide selective barriers for one type of carriers. The determination of band offsets and band lineup at the interface is thus of crucial importance. A lot of theoretical work has been devoted to this issue. In parallel, various characterization techniques have been developed to provide experimental insight into band offsets. In this chapter the principal models for band lineup at interfaces are recalled, with particular emphasis on Anderson's electron affinity rule and Tersoff's branch-point energy alignment theory. The application to the a-Si:H/c-Si system is discussed. Then, the principal electrical characterization tools based on capacitance and admittance measurements are presented. After a general overview of the widely used capacitance versus bias voltage technique (so-called C-V or 1/C 2 method), the main potential problems and sources of uncertainty when applying this technique to the a-Si:H/c-Si system are addressed. Some features specific to the a-Si:H/c-Si interface are identified and illustrated using both numerical simulations and experimental data. These features are related to the amorphous nature of a-Si:H, e.g. the high density of band gap states, and to the existence of a strong inversion regime at the c-Si surface that can lead to two dimensional electron or hole gases. A simple technique based on the measurement of the planar conductance of a-Si:H/c-Si structures is presented. The determination of band offsets from such measurements and related modelling on both (p) a-Si:H / (n) c-Si and (n) a-Si:H / (p) c-Si structures is discussed. For interfaces used in high efficiency solar cells the band offsets are found to be 0.15 eV for the conduction band and 0.40 eV for the valence band.

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Section: Application To the A-si:h/c-si Interfacementioning

confidence: 98%

Band Lineup Theories and the Determination of Band Offsets from Electrical Measurements

Kleider

2012

Physics and Technology of Amorphous-Crystalline Heterostructure Silicon Solar Cells

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“…This approach produces significant modifications in a controlled way for a variety of interfaces [1,2,33]. A different, interesting approach consists in adding a very thin intralayer of a third material between the two sides of the interface.…”

Section: Controlling the Heterojunction Interface Parametersmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Photoemission Spectroscopies in Heterojunction Research

Margaritondo

2013

Characterization of Semiconductor Heterostructures and Nanostructures

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“…First of all, one can take a given metal-semiconductor or semiconductor-semiconductor pair and form several different interfaces with such a pair under different conditions, for example by artificially manipulating the local chemistry on a microscopic scale (Niles et al 1986). According to the first extreme point of view, the measured interface barrier values should always be the same for all interfaces based on the same pair.…”

Section: Identification Of the General Issuesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interface states at semiconductor junctions

Margaritondo¹

1999

Rep. Prog. Phys.

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The experimental and theoretical progress in understanding the electronic structure and the related parameters of Schottky interfaces and heterojunctions is reviewed. Particular emphasis is devoted to the solution of several historical controversial points, to the impact of novel ab initio theoretical approaches, to new experimental techniques based on synchrotron light and free electron lasers, to the efforts towards controlled modifications of interface parameters and to the foreseeable future developments of this vigorously progressing and technologically crucial field.

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Understanding and controlling heterojunction band discontinuities

Cited by 33 publications

References 18 publications

Band Lineup Theories and the Determination of Band Offsets from Electrical Measurements

Band Lineup Theories and the Determination of Band Offsets from Electrical Measurements

The Role of Photoemission Spectroscopies in Heterojunction Research

Interface states at semiconductor junctions

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