Temperature-dependent characteristics of Pt Schottky contacts on n-type ZnO

The Schottky barrier height of Pt contacts on n-type (nsimilar to10(16) cm(-3)) thin film ZnO deposited by pulsed laser deposition was obtained from current-voltage measurements as a function of temperature. The resulting values ranged from 0.61+/-0.04 eV at 25degreesC to 0.46+/-0.06 eV at 100degreesC with saturation current densities of 1.5x10(-4) A cm(-2) (25degreesC) to 6.0x10(-2) A cm(-2) (100degreesC), respectively. The reverse current magnitude was larger than predicted by thermionic emission alone. The measured barrier height for Pt on ZnO is similar to the value reported for both Au and Ag rectifying contacts on this material. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.