Electrochemical fabrication of n-Si/Au Schottky junctions

Abstract

We report on the electrochemical deposition of gold films onto n-type silicon. Gold deposition occurs through progressive nucleation and diffusion limited growth. A high density of gold nuclei was obtained by using a short potential pulse to -1.6 V(Ag/AgCl), and subsequent growth was performed at about -1.1 V(Ag/AgCl) where the growth rate is kinetically limited. Transmission electron microscopy showed that high quality, continuous gold films were formed with an average grain size on the order of 50-70 nm. The electrical properties of the electrochemically deposited Si/Au Schottky junctions are comparable to junctions prepared by evaporation or sputtering techniques. © 1998 American Institute of Physics.