Analysis of Current-Voltage Properties of Schottky Diode with TiO2 Interlayer Prepared by RF Magnetron Sputtering

This study focuses on investigating the electrical behaviour of Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) type Schottky barrier diodes based on titanium oxide (TiO2). An MIS-type Al/TiO2/p-Si Schottky diode structure was fabricated by depositing a TiO2 metal oxide thin film as an interlayer on p-type silicon using the technique of Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering at room temperature. The electrical performance of this fabricated structure was evaluated through the measurements of current-voltage (I-V) conducted in a dark environment at ±5 V and room temperature. These measurements enabled the determination of key Schottky diode parameters, including barrier height (Φb), saturation current (Io), and ideality factor (n), using both the Thermionic Emission (TE) method and the Cheung method. Utilizing the TE method, approximate values for Φb, n, and Io parameters were calculated as 0.59 eV, 4.07, and 2.78E-06 A, respectively. Meanwhile, employing Cheung’s method yielded approximate values of Φb and n parameters as 0.39 eV (H(I) vs I) and 4.39 (dV/dln(I) vs I), respectively. The analysis indicates that the developed Schottky diode functions as a rectifier diode, demonstrating typical diode characteristics. Furthermore, a comparison of numerous devices reported in the literature was conducted based on TiO2 preparation methods against the parameters of the TiO2/p-Si host device.