Temperature dependence of 1/f noise in Pd/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diode

Temperature dependence of 1/f noise in the Pd/n-GaAs Schottky barrier diode has been investigated. The noise measurements were performed under forward bias over a wide temperature range from 90 to 300 K and frequency range from 1 to 100 Hz. The noise spectra exhibited a frequency dependence proportional with 1/f('gamma) where gamma varied between 0.8 and 1.2. It was observed that the spectral power density of current noise S-I decreased with the increase in temperature up to 130 K. This behavior has been attributed to the spatial inhomogeneities of the Schottky barrier height at the metal-semiconductor interface. Above a temperature of 130 K, S-I increased with the increase in temperature. This variation in S-I has been attributed to the mobility and diffusivity fluctuations of the carriers within the space charge region of the Schottky barrier diode. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.