Thermal dependence on electrical characteristics of Au/(PVC:Sm2O3)/n-Si structure

In this study, we investigated the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of Au/n-Si structure with an interfacial layer of Samarium Oxide (Sm2O3) nanoparticles (NPs) in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) matrix within a temperature range of 80-320 K. Applying the thermionic emission (TE) theory, essential electrical parameters such as reverse saturation current (I-0), ideality factor (n), zero bias barrier height (phi(B0)), series resistance (R-s), and rectification rate (RR) were carefully derived from the I-V data. The mean values of BH and Richardson constant obtained from the modified Richardson plot were determined to be 0.730 eV and 111.4 A/(cmK)(2), respectively. Remarkably, this A* value closely matches its theoretical counterpart for n-type Si. Thus, our findings successfully highlight the effectiveness of the thermionic emission (TE) mechanism with the Gaussian distribution of BHs in explaining the I-V-T characteristics of the fabricated Schottky structure, shedding light on the intricate interplay between temperature and diode behavior. These insights offer valuable guidance for designing and optimizing thermal-sensitive devices based on this innovative structure.