Schottky barrier heights and the continuum of gap states

Abstract

Simple physical considerations of local charge neutrality suggest that near a metal-semiconductor interface, the Fermi level in the semiconductor is pinned near an effective gap center, which is simply related to the bulk semiconductor band structure. In this way "canonical" Schottky barrier heights are calculated for several semiconductors. These are in excellent agreement with experiment for interfaces with a variety of metals. © 1984 The American Physical Society.