Band bending profile and band offset extraction at semiconductor-metal interfaces

Abstract: The band alignment of semiconductor-metal interfaces plays a vital role in modern electronics, but remains difficult to predict theoretically and measure experimentally. For interfaces with strong band bending a main difficulty originates from the in-built potentials which lead to broadened and shifted band spectra in spectroscopy measurements. In this work we present a method to resolve the band alignment of buried semiconductor-metal interfaces using core level photoemission spectroscopy and self-consistent electronic structure simulations. As a proof of principle we apply the method to a clean in-situ grown InAs(100)/Al interface, a system with a strong in-built band bending. Due to the high signal-to-noise ratio of the core level spectra the proposed methodology can be used on previously inaccessible semiconductor-metal interfaces and support targeted design of novel hybrid devices and form the foundation for a interface parameter database for specified synthesis processes of semiconductor-metal systems.