Schottky-type junction

To consider the photolysis of water based on the inorganic equivalent of the Z-scheme in nature, semiconductor tandem-type structures, such as shown in Fig. 17, can be analyzed. It should be noted that the structure shown in Fig. 17 represents a solid state analogon of two half-cells for the photoelectrolysis of water in a joint scheme. Therefore, compared to solid state devices with two pn junctions, the band bending of the structure shown develops at the respective electrolyte contact or by forming Schottky-type junctions with the electrocatalysts at the surfaces which then... 

In principle there are two types of solid state devices (i) pn-photocells and (ii) Schottky type cells. The first one consists simply of a pn-junction whereas the other of a semi-conductor-metal junction. The energy schemes of these cells are given in Fig. 1 a and b. The current-potential dependence of both types of cells is given by (see e.g. ) ... 

Metals, such as platinum, are usually introduced to improve the electron-hole separation efficiency. In order to analyze the energy structure of the metal-loaded particulate semiconductor, we solved the two-dimensional Poisson-Boltzmann equation.3) When the metal is deposited to the semiconductor by, for example, evaporation, a Schottky barrier is usually formed.45 For the Schottky type contact, the barrier height increases with an increase of the work function of the metal,4 which should decrease the photocatalytic activity. However, higher activity was actually observed for the metal with a higher work function.55 This results from the fact that ohmic contact with deposited metal particles is established in photocatalysts when the deposited semiconductor is treated by heat65 or metal is deposited by the photocatalytic reaction.75 Therefore, in the numerical computation we assumed ohmic contact at the energy level junction of the metal and semiconductor. 

Schottky-type contacts have also been reported. The occurrence of Schot-tky junctions is discussed in terms of the choice of semiconductor, the work... 

As mentioned earlier, photochemical diodes489 can be either of the Schottky type, involving a metal and a semiconductor, or a p n junction type, involving two semi conductors (which can be the same, i.e., a homojunction or different, a heterojunc tion). Only the latter type is considered in this Section involving two irradiated semi conductor/ electrolyte interfaces. Thus n Ti02 and p-GaP crystal wafers were bonded together (through the rear Ohmic contacts) with conductive Ag epoxy cement.489 The resultant heterotype p n photochemical diode was suspended in an acidic aqueous... 

It is evident from Eq. (94) that the maximum photovoltage depends critically on the exchange current Jo- In the case of pn-junctions, jo is determined by the injection and recombination (minority carrier device). Whereas in Schottky-type of cells jo can be derived from the thermionic emission model (majority carrier device). The analysis of solid state systems has shown that jo is always smaller for minority carrier devices [20,21]. Using semiconductor-liquid junctions, both types of cells can be realized. If in both processes, oxidation and reduction, minority carrier devices are involved, then jo is given by Eq. (37a), similarly as... 

The I-V curve is found to have Schottky-type dependence under forward biased conditions. This means that a semiconducting diode can be successfully fabricated using the sp /sp junction in the carbon-based structure. This result opens up a promising route to the creation of carbon electronics on the basis of using junctions consisting of carbon films with various types of electron hybridization with the aid of different dopants. 

Energy-band diagram of a forward biased Schottky barrier junction on an n-type semiconductor showing different transport... 

Films of phthalocyanine incorporated poly-N-vinyl carbazole on nesa glass in contact with aqueous electrolytes are used as sensitive dioxygen senors [229], Their photovoltaic property depends on the presence of oxygen or otherwise. Their incorporation onto polyimides is found to improve the cell s stability and performance. The use of other materials such as active carbon, alumina, silica, etc. as matrix materials for the incorporation of phthalocyanine has also been reported [70]. A non-Schottky-type rectifying device based on NiPc/Cu(PcFg), developed by vapour deposition, was shown to exhibit an I-V profile similar to a conventional p-n junction diode, with unconventional behaviour of large emission coefficient ( /) values [230]. 

Polythiophene and its derivatives are characterized as p-type semiconductors, and so they are expected to form a Schottky-like junction with a metal having low work function [98]. In this case the charge injection over this metal/polymer interface plays an important role. The charge injection mechanism can be studied by measuring temperature and voltage dependence of current. 

Four different types of junctions can be used to separate the charge carriers in solar cebs (/) a homojunction joins semiconductor materials of the same substance, eg, the homojunction of a p—n sibcon solar ceb separates two oppositely doped layers of sibcon 2) a heterojunction is formed between two dissimbar semiconductor substances, eg, copper sulfide, Cu S, and cadmium sulfide, CdS, in Cu S—CdS solar cebs (J) a Schottky junction is formed when a metal and semiconductor material are joined and (4) in a metal—insulator—semiconductor junction (MIS), a thin insulator layer, generaby less than 0.003-p.m thick, is sandwiched between a metal and semiconductor material. 

The optical properties of electrodeposited, polycrystalline CdTe have been found to be similar to those of single-crystal CdTe [257]. In 1982, Fulop et al. [258] reported the development of metal junction solar cells of high efficiency using thin film (4 p,m) n-type CdTe as absorber, electrodeposited from a typical acidic aqueous solution on metallic substrate (Cu, steel, Ni) and annealed in air at 300 °C. The cells were constructed using a Schottky barrier rectifying junction at the front surface (vacuum-deposited Au, Ni) and a (electrodeposited) Cd ohmic contact at the back. Passivation of the top surface (treatment with KOH and hydrazine) was seen to improve the photovoltaic properties of the rectifying junction. The best fabricated cell comprised an efficiency of 8.6% (AMI), open-circuit voltage of 0.723 V, short-circuit current of 18.7 mA cm, and a fill factor of 0.64. 

The interfaces between a semiconductor and another semiconductor (e.g. the very important pin junction, the interface between p- and ft-type semiconductors), between a semiconductor and a metal (the Schottky barrier) and between a semiconductor and an electrolyte are the subject of solid-state physics, using a nomenclature different from electrochemical terminology. 

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