Improvement on the current-voltage characteristics of polycrystalline silicon contacted n+-p junctions with high-field stressing

Improvement on the current-voltage characteristics of polycrystalline silicon contacted n+-p junctions after they were applied a high-field scanned stressing is reported. For the stressed diodes, the leakage current decreased as much as two orders, the breakdown voltage shifted from −45 to −60 V, and the forward ideality factor also decreased. Scanning electron microscopy photographs on the cross-sectional view of the junctions revealed that local melting might have occurred during stressing to cause the improvement.