PHOTOINDUCED RESTRUCTURING OF THE CURRENT-VOLTAGE CHARACTERISTICS OF NICKEL SILICIDE ON SILICON

Abstract

This study investigates the effect of optical illumination on the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of nickel silicide layers formed on p-type silicon. Experimental results show that illumination not only increases conductivity but also qualitatively modifies the charge transport mechanism. It was established that reducing the NiSi2 layer thickness by 15 mkm increases the photocurrent by an order of magnitude due to reduced optical losses. At high reverse bias (100 V), an internal gain factor (M= 8-10) was observed, attributed to avalanche multiplication and barrier modulation at the silicide-silicon interface. The findings demonstrate the functional activity of nickel silicide in photovoltaic processes, expanding its application in photosensitive silicon structures.