LOCAL NOISE-ANALYSIS OF A SCHOTTKY CONTACT - COMBINED THERMIONIC-EMISSION-DIFFUSION THEORY

A theoretical model for the noise properties of Schottky barrier diode s in the framework of the thermionic-emission-diffusion theory is pres ented. The theory incorporates both the noise induced by the diffusion of carriers through the semiconductor and the noise induced by the th ermionic emission of carriers across the metal-semiconductor interface . Closed analytical formulas are derived for the junction resistance, series resistance, and contributions to the net noise localized in dif ferent space regions of the diode, all valid in the whole range of app lied:biases: An additional contribution to the voltage-noise spectral density is identified, whose origin may be traced back to the cross co rrelation between the voltage-noise sources associated with the juncti on-resistance and those for the series resistance. It is argued that a n inclusion of the cross-correlation term as a new element in the exis ting equivalent circuit models of Schottky diodes could explain the di screpancies between these models and experimental measurements or Mont e Carlo simulations. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.