The effect of an interfacial oxide layer on the Schottky barrier height of Er-Si contact

We have studied the Er and ErSi2 contacts on p-Si. A correlation is found between the barrier height and the presence of an interfacial oxide layer. Samples with a thin interfacial oxide (∼ 3 Å) exhibit a barrier height of 0.68 eV. In contrast, samples without any detectable interfacial oxide show a higher barrier height of ∼0.8 eV. The barrier heights were determined by current-voltage measurements and the thicknesses of the interfacial oxide were measured by the 16O(d,α)14 N nuclear reaction technique.