The use of Au-Cd alloys to achieve large Schottky barrier heights on CdTe

The Schottky barrier height of Cd, Au, and Au-Cd alloys on vacuum cleaved surfaces of n-CdTe was determined by I-V, C-V, and photoresponse techniques. A large barrier of 0.92 eV was found in the case of the Au-Cd alloy contacts. Contacts made with elemental Cd or Au gave barrier heights of 0.45 and 0.65 eV, respectively. The increased barrier height found on Au-Cd alloy contacts may be related to recent UHV observations on Schottky barrier formation where crystal defects play a role in determining the observed barrier height.