Electronic properties of nanoscale silver crystals at the interface of silver thick film contacts on n-type silicon
Abstract
Silver crystals at the interface of silver thick film contacts play a major role for the current transport across such contacts. As only few crystals are in direct contact with the contact bulk, the specific contact resistance needs to be orders of magnitude smaller compared to the specific contact resistance of the entire contact, if no other current transport mechanism is present. To clarify the current transport mechanism, we present microscopic IV-measurements on a single silver crystal to determine its specific contact resistance to the silicon. We find satisfactory agreement with theoretical values and can explain the macroscopic contact resistance.
