Determination of lateral barrier height of identically prepared Ni/n-type Si Schottky barrier diodes by electrodeposition

Ni/n-Si/Au–Sb (21 dots) Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) have been identically prepared by the electrodeposition method. The electrodeposition of Ni films on the n-type Si substrate has been carried out at a constant current density from an aqueous electrolyte of sulfate of Ni. The barrier height for the electrodeposited Ni/n-Si/ SBDs from the current–voltage (I–V) characteristics has varied from 0.58 to 0.70 eV, and ideality factor n from 1.10 to 1.66. We have determined a lateral homogeneous barrier height value of approximately 0.69 eV for the electrodeposited Ni/n-Si/SBDs from the experimental linear relationship between the barrier heights and ideality factors. The experimental Schottky barrier height (SBH) distribution obtained from the I–V characteristics has been fitted by a Gaussian function and a mean SBH value of 0.63 eV with a standard deviation of 30 meV has been obtained for the Ni/n-Si SBDs.