Evaluation of Schottky contact parameters in metal-semiconductor-metal photodiode structures

The electrical behavior of metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) Schottky barrier photodiode structures is analyzed by means of current-voltage measurements at different temperatures. The reverse characteristics of the Schottky contact are examined by taking into account the barrier height dependence on the electric field and tunneling through the barrier. It is shown that, under these conditions, the logarithmic dependence of the reverse current on the reverse bias is a linear function and allows us to evaluate the barrier height, saturation current density, and junction ideality factor of the MSM-photodiode Schottky contact. The results are well consistent with experiment. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)05428-0].