Rectifying performance of p-type tin(II) sulfide contacts on n-type silicon: Effect of silicon nanowire sulfidation on electronic transport of heterojunction diodes

The effect of Si-nanowire (SiNW) sulfidation on electronic transport of heterojunction diodes based on the p-type tin(II) sulfide (SnS) and n-type Si with SiNW arrays was investigated in this study. The p-type SnS/SiNWs/n-type Si diode without SiNW sulfidation shows a poor rectifying behavior with an ideality factor (η) of 3.7 and high leakage. However, the p-type SnS/SiNWs/n-type Si diode with SiNW sulfidation shows a good rectifying behavior with η of 1.8 and low leakage. Such an improvement indicates that a good passivation is formed at the interface as a result of the formation of Si-S bonds. Therefore, the increased photocurrent density can be interpreted by the device rectifying performance and interface passivation.