Schottky barriers based on metal nanoparticles deposited on InP epitaxial layers

Fabrication of high-quality Schottky barriers on InP epitaxial layers prepared by liquid-phase epitaxy from rare-earth treated melts is reported. The Schottky structures are based on metal nanoparticles and a graphite layer deposited from colloidal solutions onto epitaxial layers with varying carrier concentration. The structures have notably high values of the barrier height and of the rectification ratio giving evidence of a small degree of the Fermi-level pinning. Electrical characteristics of these diodes are shown to be extremely sensitive to the exposure of gas mixtures with small hydrogen content. (paper)