Thermionic emission in silicon at temperatures below 30 K

Experimental results on the injection of carriers into the i region of silicon p-i-n diodes at temperatures below 30 K are described and a simple model is presented to explain the observed I-V characteristics. A range of temperatures is identified in which it is argued that thermionic emission into...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 1984-01, Vol.45 (7), p.752-754
Main Authors: Yang, Y. N., Coon, D. D., Shepard, P. F.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Experimental results on the injection of carriers into the i region of silicon p-i-n diodes at temperatures below 30 K are described and a simple model is presented to explain the observed I-V characteristics. A range of temperatures is identified in which it is argued that thermionic emission into the i region can be observed unmasked by other effects. The model generalizes the Richardson–Dushman equation to include the effect of impurity bands and a finite transition region between heavily doped and lightly doped regions. As an application, a fast nondestructive means of determining the abruptness of doping profiles is suggested.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.95386