Nearly ideal enhanced barrier height Schottky contacts to n-InP for MESFET applications

The author reports the substantial enhancement of the Schottky barrier height of n-InP, using a new surface passivation process. Au contacts on the passivated surface resulted in nearly ideal Schottky diodes with barrier heights as large as 0.83 eV, ideality factors between 1.02 and 1.17 and high breakdown voltages. The passivation is found to promote the formation of a phosphorus oxide at the interface, which is believed to be responsible for the enhancement of the barrier height. The high quality of the contacts makes them ideal for InP MESFET gate electrodes.