Lateral homogeneity of Schottky contacts on n-type ZnO

The electrical properties of Schottky contacts (SCs) produced ex situ on n-type ZnO single crystals and epitaxial thin films were investigated. Electron beam induced current imaging was used to study lateral variations of the current induced in the space charge region of the SC. Further, the effective barrier height was determined by current-voltage and capacitance-voltage measurements. Pd contacts prepared on ZnO thin films that had undergone treatment in a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition with nitrous oxide (N2O) as ambient gas are laterally homogeneous with an effective barrier height of (600+/-30) meV. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics.