Atomic and electronic structure of InP–metal interfaces: A prototypical III–V compound semiconductor

Soft x-ray photoemission spectroscopy and electrical measurements of UHV-cleaved InP–metal interfaces reveal that the interface abruptness on an atomic scale, the stoichiometry of semiconductor diffusion into the metal overlayer, and consequently the Schottky barrier height depend on the strength and nature of interface chemical bonding. For InP and other III–V compound semiconductors, these atomic and electronic features can be controlled extrinsically by reactive metal interlayers. Thus a chemical framework systematically accounts for the electrically-active sites created during Schottky barrier formation at III–V compound semiconductor–metal interfaces.