Fabrication of a Schottky junction diode with direct growth graphene on silicon by a solid phase reaction

We demonstrate fabrication of a Schottky junction diode with direct growth graphene on n-Si by the solid phase reaction approach. Metal-assisted crystallization of a-C thin film was performed to synthesize transfer-free graphene directly on a SiO2 patterned n-Si substrate. Graphene formation at the substrate and catalyst layer interface is achieved in presence of a Co catalytic and CoO carbon diffusion barrier layer. The as-synthesized material shows a linear current-voltage characteristic confirming the metallic behaviour of the graphene structure. The direct grown graphene on n-Si substrate creates a Schottky junction with a potential barrier of 0.44 eV and rectification diode characteristic. Our finding shows that the directly synthesized graphene on Si substrate by a solid phase reaction process can be a promising technique to fabricate an efficient Schottky junction device.