Charge carrier transport mechanism in barrier "In-macroporous silicon" structures has been investigated. Currentvoltage, capacitance-voltage, photoelectrical and noise characteristics were analyzed comparatively in structures of macroporous and single-crystal silicon. There has been designed manufacture technology of ohmic and barrier contacts on 2D macroporous silicon as well as single-crystal silicon in the same technological cycle. The contacts
were found to exhibit stable characteristics during six month period of time. The saturation of the reverse current at 0.2 ≤ U ≤ 1.0 V was observed at high temperatures. The carrier transport mechanism in the investigated structures are determined by thermal activation mechanisms at room temperature and tunneling of carriers through the transient region at temperatures T ≤ 180 K. Capacitance-voltage characteristics are similar to those observed in the metal-oxide-semiconductor structures and are included capacitance of the oxide layer and the depletion region. The presence of the transient region between metal and silicon was confirmed by the photoresponse spectra of "Inmacroporous Si" structures contained two pronounced peaks at the wavelengths 0.56 and 1.1 μm. The longwavelength peak was observed for In contacts on single n-Si crystal prepared by the same method.
InAs photodiodes were prepared by cadmium diffusion into substrates with n-type conductivity. Formation of compensated region with concentration of free carriers ~1015 cm-3 is proved from measurements of barrier capacitance and transport mechanisms. The trap-assisted tunneling current is calculated for InAs photodiodes for the fist time. In this paper we proposed a model of the trap-assisted tunneling current which is caused by nonuniform distribution of impurity atoms and native defects. The trap-assisted tunneling current is caused by small areas of the junction which are
characterized by increased concentration of defects and may be associated with dislocations, periphery of the junction or impurity fluctuations. Diffused photodiodes have higher threshold parameters in comparison with commercially available ones. Also, they exhibit higher photosensitivity in the short wavelength region due to existence of the surface built-in electric field.
The performance of p+-InAsSbP/n-InAs infrared (IR) photodiodes prepared by liquid phase epitaxy technique
(LPE) is investigated. The current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics, photoresponse and noise spectra are
investigated in the temperature range 77-300 K. The trap-assisted current is calculated and compared with
experimental data. It is found that at near-room temperatures and small reverse biases U ≤ 0.2 V experimental I-U
characteristics are determined by diffusion and generation-recombination mechanisms. The trap-assisted tunnelling is
shown to be dominant at higher reverse biases. The heterojunction photodiodes have superior photoresponse spectra in
comparison with homojunction photodiodes and high threshold parameters.
InAs photodiodes were prepared by short-term cadmium diffusion into substrates with n-type conductivity. This preparation technique results in formation of p+-p-n-n+ diodes with compensated region embedded between two doped regions. Experimental data are explained by suppression of Auger recombination in active compensated region. Electrical and photoelectrical properties of photodiodes were investigated in the temperature range 77-295 K. It is shown that the total dark current is determined by the diffusion carrier transport mechanism. The diffused photodiodes exhibit higher photosensitivity in the short wavelength region due to presence of built-in electric field at the surface. Their threshold parameters are found to be approximately the same as in commercially available photodiodes.
The current-voltage characteristics are investigated in single crystals of CdTe doped with Cl. Measured samples were ntype
conductivity with resistivity ρ=(0.5-2.0)×108 Ohm×cm, electron concentration n=(0.5÷2.0)×108 cm-3 and electron mobility μ=280÷300 cm2/Vxs. Experimental data are explained in the framework of theory of highly doped and highly compensated (HDHC) semiconductors. The mobility-lifetime product measured at room temperature is found to be of
the order of (1÷5)x 10-4 cm2xV-1. It means that this material can be used for manufacture of X-ray detectors.
The Schottky barrier formation are investigated in Au/p-CdTe contacts. The contacts were manufactured by electroless deposition of Au at the surfaces prepared by wet chemical etching. The influence of the surface treatment on the Schottky barrier height are studied. The potential barrier height is determined from the photoemission current spectra measurements. The secondary ion-mass spectroscopy (SIMS) profiling is carried out to study the compositional structure in as-deposited contacts as well as stored under normal laboratory conditions during one-year period. The effect of thermal annealing on
electrical and photoelectrical properties of the contacts is studied. For comparison, the contacts Cu/p-CdTe prepared by the same method are studied too.
Our study is concerned with peculiarities of intense CO2 laser light detection in narrow-gap semiconductor p-n junctions. Samples of InSb, PbTe and HgCdTe were udner investigation. We present experimental evidence of free carrier heating phenomenon in the semiconductors and its influence on photovoltaic signal. We show, that in particular cases, depending on laser light intensity and applied bias, the hot carrier photosignal of opposite polarity may predominate over the ordinary photovoltaic one.
Dark carrier transport mechanisms in narrow-gap Hg1-xCdxTe multilayer structures and Pb1-zSnzTe/PbTe1-yS(Se)y heterojunctions at T~80 K for applications in IR arrays are analyzed and compared with homojunction mercury-cadmium telluride (MCT) photodiode characteristics in the temperature range T~70-150 K. In the analysis procedure two major current mechanisms were included into the current balance equations: trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) and Shockley-Reed-Hall (SRH) generation-recombination processes for a defect trap level. Other current mechanisms (e.g., band-to-band tunneling, bulk diffusion) were taken into account as additive contributions. For TAT the tunneling rate characteristics were calculated within the k-p-approximation. Using donor and acceptor concentrations, trap level energies and concentrations, and in-junction trap level lifetimes as fitting parameters, good agreement with experimental data for HgCdTe and PbSnTe heterojunction and homojunction diodes was obtained, which allows one to predict the diode parameters from the known material characteristics. Photodiode or array parameters itself, or with CCD readouts, or CCD readouts separately were tested to study the influence of readout cascade on the diodes' properties.
The photocurrent spectra are investigated in Hg1-xCdxTe liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) films and photodiodes of n + -p type on their base with composition gradient. The LPE films were grown on CdTe and CdZnTe single crystal substrates. The transformation of the photocurrent spectra caused by the composition gradient is studied both experimentally and theoretically. The analytical expressions for the spectral dependencies of the photocurrent are derived from the solution of the one-dimensional continuity equation. The calculation of the photocurrent spectra are made in which the nonparabolicity of the energy bands HgCdTe is taking into account.
In review articles the methods of preparation as well as basic properties of ohmic contacts metal-semiconductors A3B5 are generalized. Chemical treatment of n-InAs result in pinning of a Fermi level by surface states in a conduction band. Thus, the near-surface area is enriched by majority carriers. The deposition of a metal on n-InAs with tunnel- transparent native oxide results in structures with an antiblocking contact. In chemically treated samples of p-InAs the pinning of a Fermi level in a conduction band causes a strong band bending of an order of the gap's width of InAs and formation of an inversion layer. The deposition of a metal on p-InAs transforms this structure into an imperfect Schottky diode, the height of a potential barrier in which does not depend on a work function of a metal. For transformation of rectifying structure metal-p-InAs into non-rectifying with linear current-voltage characteristics the formation of highly doped near-surface p +-InAs layer is used by means of epitaxial growth, or thermal diffusion of an acceptor impurity, such as Zn with its high solubility in InAs. The availability p+-InAs layer results in tunnel current mechanism through a depletion region, linear current-voltage characteristic and decrease of a contact resistance. The contact material to p+-type layer in the case of its epitaxial growth is Ti in the structure Au/Ti or Be in the structure Au/Be. The necessity of thermal treatment of such contacts was not indicated. In the case of diffusive formation of p+--area, as a rule, the alloys on the basis of indium In-Zn<5%> or In- Ni<1%>Zn<9%> are deposited by thermal evaporation followed by the thermal treatment. However, the temperature of the treatment was unknown in these articles. It should be pointed out that imperfect contacts can influence the magnitude of a noise and its frequency dependence and, therefore, the values of the detectivity of InAs photodiodes. In accordance with the above-stated, the purpose of the present work is to study influence of thermal treatment of In/Zn/p-InAs, In/n-InAs structures on their electrical and noise performances and finding-out capability of formation of low-noise ohmic contacts to p- and n-InAs materials.
The IR transmission spectra of HgCdTe epitaxial films grown on CdTe substrates were measured. The films investigated contain an exponential composition gradient. Optical density D vs the photon energy (omega) are analyzed both theoretically and experimentally. Theoretical calculations of D((omega) ) spectra were performed in the framework of the WKB approximation. The composition profile has been obtained from the fitting procedure. In order to reduce the total amount of the fitting parameters as well as to improve the accuracy of this procedure the differentiation of the D((omega) ) curves were performed.
Carrier transport mechanisms in photodiodes from narrow-gap HgCdTe and PbSnTe semiconductors for long wavelength infra- red and medium wavelength infra-red applications are discussed in connection with their use in hybrid multielement arrays for T approximately equals 77 - 150 K temperature range. It is shown that the bulk diffusion and thermal generation-recombination (GR) currents in depletion region determine carrier transport mechanisms in these photodiodes at zero bias. The transport mechanisms are changed for reverse-biased voltages at which diodes are operating with silicon read-out devices in hybrid arrays. In this case the dark current is determined not only by the GR recombination (Schockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination) via the centers in the gap, but preferentially by two non-thermal mechanisms: (1) interband tunneling via the traps in the gap, and (2) direct band-to-band tunneling. The last one is important only at rather high electron concentrations n >= 1016 cm-3 or n >= 2(DOT)1018 cm-3 in HgCdTe and PbSnTe photodiodes, respectively and at large reverse-bias (V >= 0.2 V) voltages. The parameters of the traps (density of states, energy level position, capture cross section) have been estimated from the fit of calculated transport characteristics to the measured dependences on bias and temperature in the photodiodes of both investigated compounds. One level of traps in the gap for SRH recombination and trap-assisted tunneling mechanisms were used in fitting procedure. The best fit was obtained for the model in which the level of the traps was near the middle or slightly shifted from the middle of the gap towards the conduction band edge.
P-channel silicon direct injection read-out devices with p- type buried channel CD multiplexers which consist of input circuits, shift register and output circuits were designed, fabricated and tested. Read-out devices were designed for using with IR p-n-photodiode linear arrays. The dynamical range of p-type read-out devices was estimated to be of the order of 60 dB at T equals 80 K. The two-phase p-channel CCD shift register was designed with 5 MHz clock frequency operation. Transfer efficiency without fat zero was 0.99985 at 1.0 MHz.
Hg1-xCdxTe (x approximately equal to 0.205, 0.27) 64 photodiode hybrid linear arrays for spectral regions (lambda) approximately equal to 3 - 5 and 8 - 12 micrometer have been designed. The p+-n-diodes were As-diffused n-type indium doped single crystals (n approximately equal to (2 - 5) 1015 cm-3) delineated with standard wet photolithography technique. Surface leakage current at T equals 80 K seems to be the dominant current mechanism for the diodes with no passivation coating. At higher temperatures the generation-recombination mechanism was found to be the principal one. Diodes had mean detectivity values D* (10.5 micrometer, 500, 1) approximately equal to 2 1010 and D* (6.0 micrometer, 500, 1) approximately equal to 6 1010 cm Hz1/2W-1 at 80 K. The arrays were interconnected to silicon direct injection readout devices with CCD multiplexers which consist of input circuits, shift register and output circuits. The dynamical range was estimated to be of the order of 60 dB at T equals 80 K. The two-phase p-channel CCD shift register was designed with clock frequency operation $less than or equal to 5 MHz. Transfer efficiency without fat zero was 0.99985 at 1.0 MHz frequency. The control interface based on 16-channel, 10-bit A/D converter was developed for computer data recording and signal processing.
Strong magnetic field Hall coefficient and magnetoresistivity dependencies in PbTe/PbS semimetallic SLs with periods of 12.0 divided by 100.0 nm were observed. From the analysis of these dependencies by Monte-Carlo fitting procedure the band-offset (Delta) Ev equals 0.32 plus or minus 0.05 eV was obtained (T equals 77 K) and it was proved that these SLs are type II 'misaligned structures.' The band structure calculations of PbTe/PbS SLs in the envelope wave function approximation showed that in such SLs a semimetal-semiconductor transition should occur for layer thicknesses of approximately 6.0 nm.
Medium- and long-wavelength infrared (MWIR and LWIR) Hg1-xCdxTe photodiodes (x equals 0.265 - 0.295, 0.205 - 0.220) for 3 - 5-micrometer and 8 - 12- micrometer wavelength spectral regions were fabricated by arsenic diffusion from the vapor source into the n-type HgCdTe bulk single crystals. The temperature dependence of current- voltage and capacity-voltage characteristics, and the photodiode speed response, were analyzed. For 3 - 5-micrometer photodiodes with the electron concentration 3 multiplied by 1015 cm-3 in the base n-type layer, the typical resistance-area product at zero bias RoA was about 104 (Omega) cm2 at 77 K. For 8 - 12 micrometer photodiodes with the same electron concentrations in the base region, the RoA product values of 1 - 10 (Omega) cm2 were obtained. The typical photoresponse speeds were in the range of 50 ns and 20 - 30 ns for 3 - 5-micrometer and 8 - 12-micrometer photodiodes, respectively. The dark current of fabricated photodiodes was tunneling limited at 77 K, and generation-recombination and diffusion limited at higher temperatures.
Temperature dependencies of dark electrical characteristics (Hall effect and conductivity) are investigated in PbSe polycrystalline films with different crystallite sizes deposited on glass and Si substrates. In these films the spectral dependencies of photoelectrical characteristics and the lifetime of photoexcited carriers on the crystallite sizes are studied. It is shown that the experimental data may be explained by the existence of the potential barriers for the majority carriers (holes) at the grain boundaries. The height of the barriers is found to depend on the crystallite sizes. PbSe photosensitive structures with detectivity D*λ = 2 x 1010 cm Hz½/W at room temperatures are fabricated on glass substrates. On Si substrates, the detectivity values of PbSe polycrystalline photodetectors were an order lower.
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