Yield in inhomogeneous PtSi–n-Si Schottky photodetectors

The electrical characteristics (current–voltage and capacitance–voltage) of PtSi–Si Schottky detectors annealed at different temperatures are found to be qualitatively similar. They all show deviations from the ideal behavior predicted by thermionic emission theory. The variations in the barrier height, which is significantly temperature dependent, are well fitted to a single Gaussian distribution function. The estimated efficiency of these detectors is shown to be only slightly sensitive to the presence of such barrier fluctuations except for very low temperatures and at wavelengths near the cut-off detection edge.