The Influence of Ag Metal Thickness on Barrier Height in Ag/n-CdSe Schottky Diodes

In this article, Ag/CdSe Schottky diodes with different Ag metal thickness (30 and 45 nm) were fabricated. Using a direct current (DC) sputtering technique, soda lime glass (SLG) was coated with silver (Ag) metal. Then CdSe thin films also were deposited on each metal layer separately by spray pyrolysis technique. UV–Visible spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study the optical and structural properties of the thin films. The optical bandgap energy was determined to be 1.74 eV. The XRD examination revealed that the CdSe thin film exhibits hexagonal (wurtzite) and cubic crystal structures with varying particle sizes. The SEM image reveals a consistent and well-adhered surface crystal particle. However, depending on the Ag thickness, the current–voltage (I–V) measurements have been carried out in both the forward bias and the reverse bias cases. Many electrical parameters were computed, such as the ideality factor (n) and effective barrier height (Φ_b).