Characteristic jump in the electrical properties of a Pd/AlN/Si-based device on exposure to hydrogen

Abstract

The time-dependant current response of Pd/AlN/ Si-based devices is investigated for different hydrogen concentrations. At a fixed applied voltage, the device current suddenly increases when hydrogen gas is turned on and the magnitude of this current shift varies with the hydrogen concentrations. Using first-principles simulations, the electronic structure of the Pd with different hydrogen concentrations in tetrahedric and octahedric positions is calculated. We find that when hydrogen loads the Pd metal, its Fermi energy changes, which affects the Fermi level of the Pd/AlN/Si device and thus its electrical response.