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An experimental explanation of the forward bias Capacitance-frequency plots for intimate or MIS SBDs with perfect or imperfect ohmic back-contact has been made. It has been shown that there is no excess capacitance that could be ascribed to the interface states or minority carrier at the intimate SBDs (that is, without interfacial layer) with the perfect ohmic back contact (low-resistance). It has been found that the excess capacitance is only measurable at SBDs with imperfect back contacts or with an interfacial layer which separates the interface states from the metal. It has been found that excess capacitance can be generated by varying the resistance or quality of the back-ohmic contact to the bulk semiconductor substrate, that is, the density of minority carriers that are injected by the Schottky contact depends sensitively on the properties of the ohmic back-contact. Again, it has been seen that the excess capacitance has appeared owing to the interface states plus minority carriers in MIS SBDs with imperfect back contacts. Thus, it has been concluded that the excess capacitance at nonideal Schottky contacts has been caused not only by the interface states but also by the minority carriers or by the interface states plus minority carriers due to the poor frontside or poor backside contacts. Thereby, it has been experimentally shown that every forward bias C-f plots with excess capacitance cannot be used to extract the results related to the interface states.

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A study on parameters of the Sn/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diode (SBD) fabricated on an n-type GaAs substrate has been made. The Sn/n-GaAs SBD has shown a nearly ideal behaviour with ideality factor and barrier height (BH) values of 1.081 and 0.642 eV, respectively, from the experimental forward-bias current-voltage (I-V) characteristics. A BH value of 0.724 eV has been obtained from the experimental reverse-bias capacitance-voltage (C-V) characteristics. An accurate theoretical modelling of the effect of the presence of inhomogeneities on the electron transport across the metal-semiconductor interface has been applied. This model attempts to explain abnormal experimental results obtained on 'real' Schottky diodes. Our results clearly demonstrate that the electron transport at the metal-semiconductor interface is significantly affected by low-barrier regions (patches). When the experimental data are described by the thermionic emission theory of inhomogeneous Schottky contacts, it has been concluded that both the experimental forward and reverse I-V characteristics and the difference between the values of the experimental I-V and C-V SBHs should be considered. An experimental BH difference of = 0.082 V has been obtained for the Sn/n-GaAs SBD that is less than the critical value; therefore, it has been seen that the potential in front of the patch is not pinched off.

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