Schottky Barrier Characteristic Analysis on 4H-SiC Schottky Barrier Diodes With Heavy Ion-Induced Degradation

Leakage current of 1200-V 4H-SiC Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) with different structures increased by various degrees after heavy-ion exposure. By taking I-V measurements in a range of 298 to 448 K, the voltage dependence of saturation current (I-0), barrier height (phi(B0)), and ideality factor (n) were obtained. The dependence of these parameters with temperature illustrates the Gaussian distribution of barrier height. The inhomogeneity of the Schottky barrier height (SBH) distribution was successfully described using a modified thermionic emission (TE) model with Gaussian distribution, and the average barrier height ((phi) over bar (B0)) was gained. The results show that the barrier height distribution of all SBDs remain unchanged after the irradiation which means heavy-ion exposure did not affect the Schottky barrier.