Reverse current-voltage characteristics of metal-silicide Schottky diodes

We have observed reverse current-voltage characteristics of metal-silicide Schottky diodes that are in good agreement with a theoretical model based upon a synthesis of the thermionic and diffusion theories of barrier rectification. The theory incorporates the effects of image-force lowering of the potential barrier and the scattering of electrons by the absorption and generation of optical phonons in the depletion layer adjacent to the interface. The effect of interface states upon the potential barrier height has also been included in the model. Thus it has been possible to estimate the density of the interface states from the measured I-V characteristics.