Reliability of X‐ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy for Investigating Schottky Barriers at the Metal–Semiconductor Interfaces

Owing to the global incentives targeted towards the advancement of semiconductor science and technology, the importance of a reliable method for the fundamental characterization of the interface between metals and low-dimensional semiconductors cannot be emphasized enough. For decades now, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) has been relied upon rather heavily when it comes down to investigating the band-bending, and hence the likelihood of a Schottky-barrier formation, at the resulting interfaces. However, the true extent to which the usually reported analyses of XPS measurements, attempting to unravel the true nature of metal–semiconductor interfaces, can be taken without a grain of salt is questionable at best. Therefore, in this article, a conceptual advance aiming to alter the status quo pertaining to the use of XPS for the aforementioned studies is presented.