Parametric Extractions of Silicon Nanowire-Based Printable Devices

This work presents metal-semiconductor contact analysis for silicon nanowire (SiNW)-based printable devices using technical computer-aided design (TCAD) simulation to enhance the theoretical understanding of such additively fabricable electronic devices for application in the area of sensing and flexible electronics. Two different device configurations are analyzed here, revealing specific electrical properties. The first configuration is a single silicon-nanowire-based device with a metal overlap that discusses the device parameters to obtain an Ohmic contact behavior using printed microresistors. The second device configuration is a single silicon-nanowire-based device that exhibits Schottky behavior and is suitable for sensor applications. The third device configuration exhibits a combined Schottky behavior and negative differential resistance effect, indicating the optimized conditions to fabricate self-sustained energy-efficient devices. In the last phase, Schottky diode parametric extraction is carried out which suggests the applicability of the thermionic emission-based current model.