AU GAAS(100) INTERFACE SCHOTTKY-BARRIER MODIFICATION BY A SILICON-NITRIDE INTRALAYER/

We report a modification by thin silicon nitride intralayers of the Au /n-GaAs)(100) Schottky barrier height. Thin intralayers were obtained by nitridation of evaporated Si films on decapped GaAs substrates in a n argon-nitrogen mixture plasma. The nitridation was performed at a be am energy <40 eV, with 573 K sample temperature. Gold was deposited to study in situ the Schottky barrier formation process with x-ray photo electron spectroscopy. Internal photoemission spectroscopy and current -voltage measurements were used to evaluate the barrier modification o n fully formed interfaces. Such a modification was analyzed in terms o f theoretical calculations of the dipole created by the substrate-intr alayer bonds. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.