Fermi-level pinning by misfit dislocations at GaAs interfaces

Fermi-level pinning by misfit dislocations at GaAs interfaces has been investigated. n+-GaInAs was used to control the misfit dislocation density by varying of composition and epilayer thickness. Interfaces with zero or low dislocation densities are Ohmic to current flow, and become rectifying with increasing dislocation density. The "Schottky barrier height" increases with dislocation density in accordance with a simple physical model which assumes Fermi-level pinning at the dislocation.