Interface states of Ag/(110)GaAs Schottky diodes without and with interfacial layers

• Published in: Journal of applied physics 1988-07, Vol.64 (1), p.218-224
• Main Authors: PLATEN, W, SCHMUTZLER, H.-J, KOHL, D, BRAUCHLE, K.-A, WOLTER, K
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Physics; Surface and interface electron states
• ISSN: 0021-8979; 1089-7550
• DOI: 10.1063/1.341466

GaAs(110) faces with different preparations—ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) cleaved, polished and etched, polished and sputtered—are prepared as Schottky diodes by the deposition of Ag. Diodes based on UHV-cleaved faces do show homogeneously distributed EL2 and EL5 states in deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS). On polished and etched samples an additional interface state (IS) distribution with a density of 9×1011 eV−1 cm−2 at the DLTS maximum appears. These states can be caused by defects at the oxidic interfacial layer. Polishing and sputtering also evokes the IS distribution. The absence of a DLTS signal from metal-induced gap states (MIGS) which pin the Fermi level at 0.49 eV above the valence-band maximum is related to the absence of an interfacial layer in the UHV prepared Schottky diodes. The sputter process increases the electron density in a thin layer below the interface by an As excess. The corresponding smaller extent of the barrier causes an additional electron emission via tunneling processes from the IS distribution. Furthermore, a near-interface state, EL6 (VGa-VAs), shows up. Its concentration at the interface attains NEL6 =2.5×1016 cm−3 comparable to the shallow donor concentration.