Metal-to-semiconductor (M-S) junctions are of great importance since they are present in every semiconductor device. They can behave either as a Schottky# barrier or as an ohmic contact dependent on the characteristics of the interface. We will primarily focus on Schottky barriers. This chapter contains an analysis of the electrostatics of the M-S junction, including the calculated of the charge, field and potential distribution within the device. This chapter also contains a derivation of the current voltage characteristics due to diffusion, thermionic emission and tunneling in Metal-Semiconductor junctions, followed by a discussion of M-S contacts and MESFETs. |