Effects of electron confinement on thermionic emission current in a modulation doped heterostructure

We discuss mechanisms responsible for the reduction of electron thermionic emission current from a Schottky contact to a modulation doped semiconductor compared to a bulk semiconductor. The effects discussed include metal to semiconductor barrier height enhancement due to proposed electron–electron...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of applied physics 1999-03, Vol.85 (5), p.2663-2666
Main Authors: Anwar, Amro, Nabet, Bahram, Culp, James, Castro, Fransisco
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:We discuss mechanisms responsible for the reduction of electron thermionic emission current from a Schottky contact to a modulation doped semiconductor compared to a bulk semiconductor. The effects discussed include metal to semiconductor barrier height enhancement due to proposed electron–electron cloud interaction, confined potential of the reduced dimensional systems, and the reduced dimensional nature of the density of states in the semiconductor. These effects describe the observed lowering of the dark current, and hence noise, of a modulation doped heterojunction based photodetector compared to a conventional bulk device.
ISSN:0021-8979
1089-7550
DOI:10.1063/1.369627