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Schottky Diode

A metal–semiconductor junction modeled with thermionic emission.

Model

Using a teaching-simple thermionic emission equation:

$$ I = A\,A^*\,T^2\,e^{-\frac{q\Phi_B}{k_B T}}\left(e^{\frac{qV}{n k_B T}} - 1\right) $$

  • $\Phi_B$: barrier height (eV)
  • $n$: ideality factor
  • $A^*$: effective Richardson constant (A/cm²/K²)

Assumptions: no image-force lowering, no series resistance, uniform temperature.

Usage

from semiconductor_sim import SchottkyDiode
import numpy as np

d = SchottkyDiode(barrier_height_eV=0.7, ideality=1.1)
V = np.linspace(-0.2, 0.5, 200)
I, = d.iv_characteristic(V)

See the Gallery for an IV example.

Series Resistance (optional)

You can include a simple series resistance R_s to account for contact and bulk resistances. The current then satisfies

$$ I = I_s\left(\exp\left(\frac{q\,(V - I\,R_s)}{n\,k_B T}\right) - 1\right), $$

which we solve numerically with a stable Newton method for each voltage point. Enable it by passing series_resistance_ohm:

from semiconductor_sim import SchottkyDiode
import numpy as np

d = SchottkyDiode(barrier_height_eV=0.7, ideality=1.1, series_resistance_ohm=5.0)
V = np.linspace(-0.2, 0.5, 200)
I, = d.iv_characteristic(V)

Note: This is a teaching-simple addition; effects like image-force barrier lowering or bias-dependent ideality are not modeled.