EE236 Experiment 5 : Supporting Document

Schottky Diode

The Schottky diode, also known as Schottky barrier diode or hot-

carrier diode, is a semiconductor diode formed between a metal and a
semiconductor, creating a Schottky barrier (instead of a
semiconductor–semiconductor junction as in conventional diodes).
Typical metals used are molybdenum, platinum, chromium or
tungsten, and certain silicides (e.g., palladium silicide and platinum
silicide), whereas the semiconductor would typically be n-type silicon.
The metal side acts as the anode, and n-type semiconductor acts as
the cathode of the diode; meaning conventional current can flow from
the metal side to the semiconductor side, but not in the opposite
direction.
The choice of thecombination of the metal and semiconductor
determines the forward voltage of the diode. Both n- and p-type
semiconductors can develop Schottky barriers. However, the p-type
typically has a much lower forward voltage.
Construction
As soon as these metal and semiconductor are brought into contact
and thermal equilibrium is established, their Fermi levels become
equal. Electrons from the semiconductor lower their energy level by
flowing into the metal. Charge accumulates at the interface, distorting
the energy bands in the semiconductor. This creates an energy
barrier, known as the Schottky barrier, which prevents more electrons
from flowing from the n-type material into the metal without assistance
from an external energy source of the correct polarity to elevate their
energy above that of the Schottky barrier height. External energy of
the opposite polarity increases the barrier height, thus preventing
conduction. When metal is brought into contact with an n-type
semiconductor during fabrication of the chip, electrons diffuse out of
the semiconductor into the metal, leaving a region known as the
“depletion layer” under the contact that has no free electrons. This
region contains donor atoms that are positively charged because each
lost its excess electron. This charge makes the semiconductor positive
with respect to the metal. Diffusion continues until the semiconductor
is so positive with respect to the metal that no more electrons can go
into the metal. The internal voltage difference between the metal and
the semiconductor is called the contact potential, and is usually in the
range 0.3 – 0.6 V for typical Schottky diodes.
When a positive voltage is applied to the metal, the internal voltage is
reduced, and electrons can flow into the metal. Only those electrons
whose thermal energy happens to be many times the average can
escape, and these “hot electrons” account for all the forward current
from the semiconductor into the metal.

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 Energy band diagrams for Shottky contact on n-type semiconductor:
A. Before contacting
B. After contacting, in equilibrium
C. Under Reverse bais
D. Under Forward bias

The barrier between the metal and the semiconductor can be

identified on an energy band diagram. To construct such diagram we
first consider the energy band diagram of the metal and the
semiconductor, and align them using the same vacuum level as
shown in Figure (a). As the metal and semiconductor are brought
together, the Fermi energies of the metal and the semiconductor do
not change right away. This yields the flat band diagram of Figure (b).

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The barrier height, ΦB, is defined as the potential difference between
the Fermi energy of the metal and the band edge where the majority
carriers reside.
From Figure (b), it can be noted that for an n-type semiconductor the
barrier height is obtained from:

ΦB = ΦM - ⲭ
For p-type material, the barrier height is given by the difference
between the valence band edge and the Fermi energy in the metal:

ΦB = Eg/q - ΦM + ⲭ

A metal-semiconductor junction will therefore form a barrier for

electrons and holes if the Fermi energy of the metal as drawn on the
flat band diagram is somewhere between the conduction and valence
band edge.
In addition, we define the built-in potential, ΦI, as the difference
between the Fermi energy of the metal and that of the semiconductor.

ΦI = ΦM - ⲭ - (Ec – Efn)/q [for n-type]

ΦI = ⲭ + (Ec – Efp)/q - ΦM [for p-type]

The flat band diagram, shown in Figure (b), is not a thermal

equilibrium diagram, since the Fermi energy in the metal differs from
that in the semiconductor. Electrons in the n-type semiconductor can
lower their energy by traversing the junction. As the electrons leave
the semiconductor, a positive charge, due to the ionized donor atoms,
stays behind. This charge creates a negative field and lowers the
band edges of the semiconductor. Electrons flow into the metal until

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equilibrium is reached between the diffusion of electrons from the
semiconductor into the metal and the drift of electrons caused by the
field created by the ionized impurity atoms. This equilibrium is
characterized by a constant Fermi energy throughout the structure.
Operation of a metal-semiconductor junction under forward and
reverse bias is illustrated with Figure (c) and (d). As a positive bias is
applied to the metal (Figure (c)), the Fermi energy of the metal is
lowered with respect to the Fermi energy in the semiconductor. This
results in a smaller potential drop across the semiconductor. The
balance between diffusion and drift is disturbed and more electrons
will diffuse towards the metal than the number drifting into the
semiconductor. This leads to a positive current through the junction at
a voltage comparable to the built-in potential.
As a negative voltage is applied (Figure (d)), the Fermi energy of the
metal is raised with respect to the Fermi energy in the semiconductor.
The potential across the semiconductor now increases, yielding a
larger depletion region and a larger electric field at the interface. The
barrier, which restricts the electrons to the metal, is unchanged so that
the flow of electrons is limited by that barrier independent of the
applied voltage. The metal-semiconductor junction with positive barrier
height has therefore a pronounced rectifying behaviour. A large
current exists under forward bias, while almost no current exists under
reverse bias.
The potential across the semiconductor therefore equals the built-in
potential, ΦI, minus the applied voltage, Va.
Φ(ⲭ = ∞) - Φ(ⲭ = 0) = Φi - Va

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Schottky diode I-V characteristics
The I-V characteristic is shown below. In the forward direction the
current rises exponentially, having a knee or turn on voltage of around
0.3 V. In the reverse direction, there is a greater level of reverse
current than that experienced using a more conventional PN junction
diode.

Additionally the reverse breakdown voltage is also typically lower than

an equivalent silicon PN junction diode.

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Reverse Recovery Time
Ideally, a diode is:
1. a perfect conductor when it is forward biased
2. a perfect insulator when reverse biased, and
3. the transition from conductor to insulator is instantaneous upon a
forward bias/reverse bias switch.
Practical diodes don't display these ideal characteristics, and the
question is related to the transition (switching) time from conduction to
open circuit when the bias is reversed. The figure below shows what
happens when the diode bias is switched from forward to reverse. At
the switch time, the current reverses and stays at a constant level for
a period of time called the storage time, ts. During this time the diode
acts essentially as a short circuit. Then the current decreases to the
reverse leakage current value. This latter time is called the transition
time.

The sum of the storage and transition times is the reverse recovery
time. It depends on the forward current, and data sheets give the
reverse recovery time along with the test conditions.

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Why does a diode behave this way?
When PN junction is forward biased, a large number of electrons are
injected into the p-material, and a large number of holes are injected
into the n-material of the PN junction. When the diode is then reverse
biased, these stored minority carriers must return to the opposite
material. The time it takes for the electrons to move from the p-
material back to the n-material and the holes to move from the n-
material to the p-material is the storage time, and is determined by the
geometry of the PN junction. Once this migration is complete, the
electrons diffuse to, and recombine at the anode, and the holes diffuse
to and recombine at the cathode until there are no more of the original
stored carriers left. This time is the transition time, and is determined
by the geometry and doping levels of the p- and n-materials.
The reverse recovery times for PN junction diodes are a few
microseconds for general-purpose rectifier diodes such as the
1N4001. When a diode is employed to rectify a 60-Hz voltage in a
power supply, a reverse recovery time of 1 microsecond is irrelevant.
However, when the diode is used as a switch in a circuit that runs at
100 KHz, then 1 microsecond is a substantial part of the conduction
cycle, and the diode will dissipate a lot of energy. In switching
applications such as DC-DC converters this can seriously impact
efficiency. By manipulating doping levels and junction geometry one
can manufacture semiconductor junction rectifiers with much smaller
reverse recovery times. For example, the industry standard 1N4933
fast rectifier has a reverse recovery time of 200 ns. For small-signal
(as opposed to power rectification) applications PN junction diodes
can be made quite fast-the widely used 1N4148 small-signal diode
has a reverse recovery time of 4 ns. However, all PN junctions have
by necessity stored minority carriers when forward biased, so there
are limits on what can be done. Additionally, the faster speed comes

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at the expense of higher forward voltage drop and higher reverse
leakage currents.
For really small switching times, Schottky barrier diodes are used.
These diodes are not PN junctions, but consist of a semiconductor-
metal junction, and there are no stored minority carriers. Switching
times can be as small as a few hundred picoseconds. This is very
useful when protecting MOS devices, and in lower level switching and
steering applications. Apart from fast switching times, Schottky diodes
also have the desirable quality of low forward voltages. This makes
them attractive for power rectifier applications