A dipole-layer approach is presented, which leads to analytic solutions to the potential and the electronic transport at metal-semiconductor interfaces with arbitrary Schottky-barrier-height profiles. The presence of inhomogeneities in the Schottky-barrier height is shown to lead to a coherent explanation of many anomalies in the experimental results. These results suggest that the formation mechanism of the Schottky barrier is locally nonuniform at common, polycrystalline, metal-semiconductor interfaces.

• Received 29 January 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.45.13509