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The contact of metal and semiconductor can lead to the formation of a junction with either Schottky or Ohmic behavior.
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Silicon Metal-oxide-semiconductor Quantum Dots for Single-electron Pumping

Silicon Metal-oxide-semiconductor Quantum Dots for Single-electron Pumping

Published on: June 3, 2015

Molecular electronics at metal/semiconductor junctions. Si inversion by sub-nanometer molecular films.

Omer Yaffe¹, Luc Scheres, Sreenivasa Reddy Puniredd

¹Department of Materials & Interfaces, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot 76100, Israel.

|May 15, 2009

Summary

Electronic transport across semiconductor junctions is largely unaffected by organic layer thickness. This suggests a generation-recombination mechanism, not thermionic emission, dominates charge transport.

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Area of Science:

Solid State Physics
Materials Science
Organic Electronics

Background:

Understanding electronic transport in organic/semiconductor interfaces is crucial for device applications.
Previous models often assumed thermionic emission as the dominant transport mechanism.
The influence of organic layer properties on charge transport requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the electronic transport properties of n-type silicon/alkyl monolayer/mercury (n-Si/alkyl/Hg) junctions.
To determine the dependence of charge transport on the length of the alkyl chains in the organic monolayer.
To elucidate the underlying mechanism of electron transport across these interfaces.

Main Methods:

Fabrication of n-Si/alkyl/Hg junctions with varying alkyl chain lengths.
Electrical characterization of the junctions, including current-voltage (I-V) measurements.
Analysis of transport mechanisms under different bias conditions.

Main Results:

Electronic transport was found to be independent of alkyl chain length for lengths from 18 down to 1-2 carbons at reverse and low forward bias.
Results indicate that electron transport is dominated by minority carriers.
The transport mechanism appears to be governed by generation and recombination, not thermionic emission.

Conclusions:

The observed insensitivity to interface properties suggests a transport mechanism other than simple thermionic emission.
Binding organic molecules directly to semiconductors offers unique control over semiconductor/metal interface properties.
Minority carrier transport via generation-recombination is a key factor in these systems.