End of Contract Report for ONR (Office of Naval Research) Contract N00014-85-K-0805 (California Institute of Technology, Pasadena)
Abstract
Most of our efforts during the past contract period were foc used on elucidation of the properties of indium phosphide semiconductor/liquid interfaces. Our interest in InP is primarily due to its potential for use in the next generation of high speed electronic devices. We have performed detailed studies of the properties of stable, nonaqueous-based n-InP/liquid contacts with a variety of redox couples. Measurements of the current-voltage behavior on n- InP methyl hydroxide based junctions confirm that charge transfer within this system can be extremely responsive to the electrochemical potential of the contacting phase. This behavior contrasts with the predicted, and observed, behavior for III-V based semiconductor/metal Schottky barrier systems. A full kinetic analysis of the n-InP/dimethyl-ferrocene(+)/(0)CH3OH interface demonstrated that the deviation between theoretical prediction and actual experiment is not due merely to an artifact of the lower density of states in the liquid, but instead arises from a difference in surface potential between the liquid and metal contacts. This implies that restrictions on interface performance predicted by the unified defect model, and other models that postulate intrinsic limitations on the output properties of InP junctions, can be experimentally avoided with proper choice of redox couple and electrolyte. This work has possible implications with regard to techniques for surface passivities of InP devices and with respect to fabrication of improved Schottky barrier systems based in InP.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Nov 05, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA202357
Entities
People
- Amit Kumar
- Chong Zheng
- Michael J. Heben
- Nathan S. Lewis
- Reginald M. Penner
Organizations
- California Institute of Technology