Excess tunneling currents in p-Si-n-3C-SiC heterostructures

An attempt is made to interpret the current-voltage characteristic of a p-Si-n-3C-SiC heterostructure in terms of the excess-tunneling mechanism. The space charge region width W and tunneling length λ are estimated. It is shown that W ≫ λ and, despite this, that the current transport through the heterostructure obeys the tunneling mechanism. The characteristic tunneling energy ε = 57 meV, temperature coefficient of the saturation current, and the barrier thinness factor are found.