Abstract
Current–voltage (I–V) characteristics and their temperature dependence, of Schottky and metal-insulator-semiconductor diodes with tunnel thin insulating layers, are theoretically and experimentally studied. The effective barrier height of a Schottky diode becomes low and strongly dependent upon the applied voltage, when the impurity density of the semiconductor increases such that the tunnel current dominates the total curent. The I–V curves and their temperature dependence, of the tunnel thin MIS diodes strongly reflect the characteristics of the Schottky diodes, although the insulating layers suppress the currents, depending upon their I-layers thickness.