*4.1. Schottky Diode*

The study of Schottky and p-n junction diode behaviour on thin film CVD 3C-SiC dates back to the 1980s [83]. Much of this early work was conducted on thin films deposited on silicon and 6H-SiC. The initial studies were concerned with the surface science of fabricating appropriate metal contacts. These diodes demonstrated the first reported 3C-SiC rectification behaviour of up to 200 V, with leakage currents ranging from between 10−4–1 A/cm<sup>2</sup> [84,85]. Vertical heterojunction Schottky diodes based on platinum (Pt) contacts showed a blocking voltage of 85 V with a low forward voltage drop of ~0.85 V [86]. Gold contacts to 3C-SiC for Schottky diode applications displayed a variance of the barrier height with contact area [19]. This can be explained by the defect density inherent within the starting material. More recent Schottky diode reports suggest that the leakage current is not dominated by SF density, as the leakage current had a greater dependency on the barrier height [87]. Barrier height nonuniformities of the Schottky barrier have been observed on lateral 3C-SiC-on-Si diodes, implicating complex trapping/de-trapping phenomena observed within the material [88]. The information acquired has led to validated technology computer aided design (TCAD) models for accurate 3C-SiC device simulation [9].
