Electrical and photoelectrical characterization of Au/ZrO2/N-Si MIS contact

Metal insulator semiconductor (MIS) contacts are key components for many semiconductor devices. The usage of high dielectric constant (high-) insulator layers instead of conventional SiO2 gate oxide is currently widely studied. Zirconia with very large band gap (5-8 eV) and high dielectric constant (ε ≈ 25) is one of the most important candidates for this purpose. In this study, Au/ZrO2/n-Si MIS structure was fabricated by deposition of ZrO2 thin film onto n-Si substrate and evaporating the Au metal onto thin film. Electrical and photoelectrical characteristics of Au/ZrO2/n-Si MIS structure were analyzed using its current-voltage (I-V) measurements at room temperature in dark and under a solar simulator for various illumination intensities. In addition, capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics of Au/ZrO2/n-Si MIS structure were studied and the barrier heights obtained from both measurements were compared.