Rectifying Characteristics and Semiconductor-Metal Transition Induced by Interfacial Potential in the Mn3CuN/n-Si Intermetallic Heterojunction

Kewen Shi; Cong Wang; Ying Sun; Lei Wang; Sihao Deng; Pengwei Hu; Huiqing Lu; Weichang Hao; Tianmin Wang; Weihua Tang

doi:10.1021/acsami.7b00700

Rectifying Characteristics and Semiconductor-Metal Transition Induced by Interfacial Potential in the Mn₃CuN/n-Si Intermetallic Heterojunction

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 Apr 12;9(14):12592-12600. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b00700. Epub 2017 Mar 28.

Authors

Kewen Shi¹, Cong Wang¹, Ying Sun¹, Lei Wang¹, Sihao Deng¹, Pengwei Hu¹, Huiqing Lu¹, Weichang Hao¹, Tianmin Wang¹, Weihua Tang²

Affiliations

¹ Center for Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, Department of Physics, Beihang University , Beijing 100191, People's Republic of China.
² State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Telecommunications, School of Science, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications , Beijing 100876, People's Republic of China.

PMID: 28322542
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b00700

Abstract

The Mn₃CuN/n-Si heterojunction device is first designed in the antiperovskite compound, and excellent rectifying characteristics are obtained. The rectification ratio (RR) reaches as large as 38.9 at 10 V, and the open-circuit voltage V_oc of 1.13 V is observed under temperature of 410 K. The rectifying behaviors can be well described by the Shockley equation, indicating the existence of a Schottky diode. Simultaneously, a particular semiconductor-metal transition (SMT) behavior at 250 K is also observed in the Mn₃CuN/n-Si heterojunction. The interfacial band bending induced inversion layer, which is clarified by the interfacial schematic band diagrams, is believed to be responsible for the SMT and rectifying effects. This study can develop a new class of materials for heterojunction, rectifying devices, and SMT behaviors.

Keywords: antiperovskite compound; interface; intermetallic heterojunction device; inversion layer; rectifying characteristics; semiconductor−metal transition.