Temperature dependence of specific contact resistivity

The temperature dependence of specific contact resistivity has been measured over the range 77-380 K for W contact to both B- and P-doped silicon. A range of surface concentrations have been investigated. In general, ρ
c
is slightly more weakly temperature dependent than has been predicted. There appears to be no fundamental barrier to obtaining low-resistance contacts for low-temperature (<100 K) device operation. Contact resistivity to very heavily P-doped surfaces actually decreases with decreasing temperature, in agreement with predictions.