Reversible influence of ultrasound on γ-irradiated Mo/n-Si Schottky barrier structure

The influence of ultrasonic loading on current-voltage characteristics has been investigated in Mo/n-n+-Si structures irradiated by 60Co γ-rays. The longitudinal ultrasonic waves were of 9.6 MHz in frequency and had the intensity approaching 1.3 W/cm2. The observed reversible acoustically induced increase in forward and reverse currents was as large as 60%. The ultrasound has been found to affect thermionic emission mainly due to Schottky barrier height decrease. The observed effects are related to acoustically induced ionization of the defects located at the metal-semiconductor interface. It has also been found that in the result of γ-irradiation, the ultrasonic wave-defect interaction is modified. Ultrasonic loading, however, has been found to have no effect either on direct or phonon-assisted tunneling.