Barrier stability of Pt/4H-SiC Schottky diodes used for high temperature sensing

Different characterization techniques have been used in order to evaluate the electrical behavior of Pt/SiC-Schottky diodes and determine their capability as temperature sensors. I-V characteristics for fabricated devices were measured up to 400°C. Subsequent conventional parameter extraction evinced a barrier height increase with temperature, due to Pt Schottky contact inhomogeneity. The energy activation method was carried out in order to identify both the effective barrier height for the devices and the non-uniformity parameter (p). Despite severe degrees of contact inhomogeneity, the diodes were found adequate for temperature sensing applications over the 26°C–400°C range, with sensitivities up to 1.59 mV/°C.