Electron irradiation effects on the Schottky diode characteristics of p-Si

Particle irradiation can induce transient and permanent changes in the electrical properties of semiconductor devices in radiation environments. The effects of electron irradiation on the device properties of Al/p-Si Schottky diodes are reported here. Schottky diodes were exposed to a maximum cumulative dose of 100 kGy at room temperature. Their forward and reverse current–voltage (I–V) characteristics were studied at room temperature. The diode parameters such as ideality factor, reverse saturation current, barrier height and series resistance were calculated from the forward I–V characteristics. An increase in the values of the ideality factor and a decrease in the barrier height values were observed over this dose range. Also, the reverse current was found to increase with increasing dose.