Research Information System
Thin Solid Films, vol.839, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
In this work, we report on the fabrication of Au/ Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) /n-Si Schottky diodes(SDs) incorporating pure, 3 %, and 5 % Ni-doped PVP interlayers on a common P-doped n-Si wafer under identical conditions. Their electrical performance was analyzed through current/voltage (IV) measurements to evaluate the impact of doping on diode behavior at ±3.5 V voltage intervals. Key parameters, including reverse saturation-current I0, ideality factor n, rectification-ratio (RR), zero-bias barrier height (BH) ФB0, and series and shunt resistances (Rs and Rsh) were extracted using Thermionic − emission (TE) theory. The Cheung and Norde functions were also used for a more precise determination of BH and RS, showing variation due to voltage dependence. Analysis of conduction mechanisms via ln(If) vs ln(Vf) and ln(Ir) vs Vr1/2 plots revealed dominant behaviors such as ohmic conduction, trap-charge/space-charge limited current, Schottky emission, and Poole-Frenkel mechanisms under varying bias voltages. Furthermore, the density of surface − states (Nss) was extracted from the forward-bias I–V data based on the voltage-dependent n(V) factor and BH (Φ(V)), and Nss – (Ec–Ess) profiles were generated for all samples, showing a significant reduction in the density of Nss of Metal/polymer/semiconductor structures due to chemical passivation by the Ni-doped PVP layer. Overall, both pure and Ni-doped PVP interlayers enhanced diode quality by lowering I0, Nss, and n while improving RR, Rsh, and ФB0.