The physical origin of Fermi level pinning (FLP) at metal/Ge interfaces has been argued over a long period. Using the Fe3Si/Ge(111) heterostructure developed originally, we can explore electrical transport properties through atomically matched metal/Ge junctions. Unlike the conventional metal/p-Ge junctions reported so far, we clearly observe rectifying current-voltage characteristics with a measurable Schottky barrier height, depending on the contact area of the Fe3Si/Ge(111) junction. These results indicate that one should distinguish between intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms for discussing the formation of the Schottky barrier at metal/Ge interfaces. This study will be developed for understanding FLP for almost all the metal/semiconductor interfaces.
@article{arxiv.1108.3669,
title = {Mechanism of Fermi Level Pinning at Metal/Germanium Interfaces},
author = {K. Kasahara and S. Yamada and K. Sawano and M. Miyao and K. Hamaya},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1108.3669},
year = {2012}
}