Electron irradiation effects on the Schottky diode characteristics of p-Si

Particle irradiation can induce transient and permanent changes in the electrical properties of semiconductor devices in radiation environments. The effects of electron irradiation on the device properties of Al/p-Si Schottky diodes are reported here. Schottky diodes were exposed to a maximum cumulative dose of 100 kGy at room temperature. Their forward and reverse current-voltage (I-V) characteristics were studied at room temperature. The diode parameters such as ideality factor, reverse saturation current, barrier height and series resistance were calculated from the forward I-V characteristics. An increase in the values of the ideality factor and a decrease in the barrier height values were observed over this dose range. Also, the reverse current was found to increase with increasing dose. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.