Vertical CdTe:PVP/p-Si-Based Temperature Sensor by Using Aluminum Anode Schottky Contact

The vertical Schottky barrier diode (SBD)-based temperature sensors with the drive modes are a significant issue with more advantageous than the on-chip sensor. The sensitivity (
${S}$
) and the current conduction mechanisms (CCMs) of the vertical cadmium telluride (CdTe):polyvinyl pyrolidone (PVP)/
${p}$
-Si SBD were studied experimentally over the range of 80–340 K and compared with that of the lateral and vertical sensors. It is shown that the low and moderated voltages of the CdTe:PVP/
${p}$
-Si corresponding two linear regions of the current–voltage (
${I}$
–
${V}$
) outputs are around 0.1–0.3 and 0.4–0.65 V, respectively. The variation of Schottky barrier height (BH;
${\sf \Phi } _{\text {Bo}}$
) and ideality factor (
${n}$
) with temperature was obtained according to two linear regions. Energy dispersion of the interface traps (
${N}_{\text {ss}}$
) with changing temperature is additionally analyzed quantitatively. It is concluded that the thermionic-emission (TE) theory with double-Gaussian distribution (GD) is the dominant mechanism resulting the
${I}$
–
${V}$
characteristics of the vertical CdTe:PVP/
${p}$
-Si SBD in this study. Moreover, in the constant current, the
${S}$
values at the drive current of 10, 20, and
$50~\mu \text{A}$
were resulting in a range of −1.6 to −1.8 mV/K.