Low-frequency excess noise in metal—Silicon Schottky barrier diodes

Theoretical models for the generation-recombination noise and trapping noise in metal-semiconductor Schottky barrier diodes are developed. Low-frequency excess noise in Schottky barrier diodes is found to be dominated by the modulation of the barrier height φB caused by fluctuation in the charge state of traps or generation-recombination centers. This noise mechanism does not occur in p-n junctions. The bias and the temperature dependence of the generation-recombination noise is critically compared with the experimental data for forward diode current ranges from 3 to 300 µA and operating temperatures from -25° to 100°C. Trapping noise in Schottky barrier diodes is observed at low temperatures in diodes not intentionally doped with deep level impurities. The experimental results on trapping noise can be described by assuming that the trap states have a constant capture cross section and are uniformly distributed in space, as well as in energy. The surface potential at the diode periphery also has an important effect on the Schottky barrier diode noise. The best low-frequency noise behavior is found when the surface is at the flat-band condition. An accumulated surface is always associated with a large amount of low-frequency excess noise.