Schottky barriers on compound semiconductors: The role of the anion

The Schottky barrier for holes on common III–V and II–VI semiconductors contacted by Au is shown to depend only on the anion. Compilation of the experimental data shows that compound semiconductors with the same anion but different cations possess very similar values for the the Au Schottky barrier for holes. Further, the data show that the Pauling electronegativity of the anion provides a useful ordering parameter for the height of the Schottky barrier. This correlation is compared with analogous barrier data on rocksalt and layer structures as well as earlier results for the semiconductor–vacuum interface