Properties of the Schottky Barriers on compensated PbTe〈Ga〉

Abstract C-V, I-V and photoelectric characteristics were investigated for some metals with different work functions, deposited onto compensated PbTe〈Ga〉 substrates with low carrier concentrations N , P ⩽ 10 16 cm −3 . The surfaces of the PbTe〈Ga〉 substrates were prepared by anode-mechanical polishing, that results in enriching of the surface by Te. It was shown that the heights of the potential barriers O B of the Schottky contacts prepared by oxidization in air anode-mechanically polished PbTe surfaces do not depend on the metal work function of Cu, Ag, Au and In. The highest values of resistance-area product were obtained for the Cu/ p -PbTe〈Ga〉 contacts (R 0 A≅ 1 × 10 4 Ωcm 2 ) and were slightly lower than the R 0 A value limited by the thermoemission current.