Characterization of dark noise in CdZnTe spectrometers

Systematic measurements of dark noise spectra of CdZnTe x- and γ-ray spectrometers, correlated with the dc I-V characteristics and detector technology, are reported. The dark noise of two innovative CdZnTe spectrometer configurations are studied: metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) resistive detectors with three terminals as well as heterostructure PIN detectors with thermally evaporated n⁺ CdS and p⁺ ZnTe contacts, which are fabricated on high pressure Bridgman CdZnTe (Zn=10%) crystals. The two innovative CdZnTe spectrometer configurations presented here exhibit very low dark (leakage) current. By reducing the dc value of the dark (leakage) current below 1 nA, shot noise becomes the dominant noise mechanism and the contribution of 1/f noise becomes negligible. The use of non-injecting contacts (evaporated gold) for the MSM detectors and the operation of the PIN detector in the reverse bias mode prevent generation-recombination noise which becomes dominant with injecting contacts (for example MSM detectors with evaporated indium and titanium contacts) or when operating the PIN detector in the forward bias mode. Surface leakage is reduced by applying surface passivation but is eliminated only by using the three terminal MSM configuration which exhibits simple shot noise instead of the suppressed shot noise observed in the two terminal MSM spectrometers. The noise measurements are useful for optimizing detector technology.     

Experimental determination of the avalanche region of one-sided abrupt barriers

In this paper is presented an experimental method for the determination of the width of the avalanche region of one-sided abrupt barriers at breakdown. The ionization rates of both electrons and holes are determined using the same experiments. The method is based on multiplication measurements corresponding to a primary current coming from the highly doped side of the junction. This primary current is obtained by varying the wavelength of a light spot applied to the highly doped side. This method is used to control the avalanche behaviour of P⁺N and N⁺P Si abrupt junctions. The avalanche region and ionization rates obtained are in good agreement with values already published.     

Ionization coefficient measurement in GaAs by using multiplication noise characteristics

Multiplication noise measurements for p⁺n type (100) GaAs avalanche photodiodes with various n-layer dopings ranging from 6 × 10¹⁵ to 9 × 10¹⁶ cm^?3 confirmed that the ionization coefficient of electrons α is about two times larger than that of holes β in the electric field range from 2.4 × 10⁵ to 5.6 × 10⁵ V/cm. When pure electrons were injected into the avalanche region, the multiplication noise power was proportional to the 2.7th power of the multiplication factor and the ionization coefficient ratio $\text{k =}\text{β}\text{α}$ was constant, where k = 0.5 in the above electric field range. The result was consistent with the multiplication factor dependence on light wavelength. Using the constant ionization coefficient ratio k and the multiplication factor dependence on applied bias voltage, ionization coefficients α and β for electrons and holes were estimated.     

The p+n−n+ diode pulsed at extreme current densities—I: Numerical techniques and reverse pulsed case

The anomalous voltage transient response of the p⁺n^?n⁺ diode structure to a single non-repetitive intense current pulse is presented for current densities up to and greater than 10⁴ amp/cm². A very general device model and an accurate numerical iterative method are used to solve the basic transport equations leaving the selection of pulse wave form, generation-recombination laws, avalanching, doping profiles, mobility, and injection levels arbitrary. The boundary conditions are applied solely to the external contacts. In order to achieve numerical convergence to such a nonlinear problem, due to the extreme currents, it was determined that a very accurate thermal equilibrium solution was necessary. Two examples for the reverse pulse case, reach-through and avalanche, are presented to show the effects of large current densities on the reverse voltage response.     

Experimental Performance and Monte Carlo Modeling of Long Wavelength Infrared Mercury Cadmium Telluride Avalanche Photodiodes

We evaluated the performance of long-wavelength infrared (LWIR, λ _c = 9.0 μm at 80 K) mercury cadmium telluride electron-injected avalanche photodiodes (e-APDs) in terms of gain, excess noise factor, and dark current, and also spectral and spatial response at zero bias. We found an exponential gain curve up to 23 at 100 K and a low excess noise factor close to unity (F = 1–1.25). These properties are indicative of a single carrier multiplication process, which is electron impact ionization. The dark current is prevailed by a diffusion current at low reverse bias. However, tunneling currents at higher reverse bias limited the usable gain. The measurements of the pixel spatial response showed that the collection width, and, especially, the amplitude of the response peak, increased with temperature. Furthermore, we developed a Monte Carlo model to understand the multiplication process in HgCdTe APDs. The first simulation results corroborated experimental measurements of gain and excess noise factor in mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR, x = 0.3) and LWIR (x = 0.235) e-APDs at 80 K. This model makes it possible for phenomenological studies to be performed to identify the main physical effects and technological parameters that influence the gain and excess noise. The study of the effect of the n ⁻-layer thickness on APD performance demonstrated the existence of an optimum value in terms of gain.     

Analysis of leakage currents in MOCVD grown GaInAsSb based photodetectors operating at 2 µm

This paper reports the fabrication and characterization of GaInAsSb photodetectors operating at 2 μm. At room temperature, the performance of these photodiodes under reverse bias conditions is limited by the surface leakage. A model has been developed to separate the bulk (diffusion and generation-recombination (g-r)) and the surface leakage contributions toward the total leakage current. By fitting this model to the experimental data, values of material parameters such as minority carrier diffusion length and lifetime have been estimated. The highest R₀A of 55 Ω-cm² has been obtained with a responsivity of 0.44 A/W at 2 μm.     

Effects of time dependence of multiplication process on avalanche noise

Theoretical and experimental studies of noise generated due to the randomness of the multiplication process in the avalanche region of a uniform diode are presented. The theory extends the results of McIntyre to include the time dependence of the multiplication process. It also shows the correspondence between the results of McIntyre, Gummel and Blue, Hines and Tager. The space-charge feedback and transit-time effects have been neglected in this analysis. The theoretical and the experimental results described have shown that even at frequencies well below transit-time frequency, the importance of the factor resulting from consideration of the time dependence of the multiplication process cannot be ignored.The measurements of the avalanche noise on uniform p⁺-n-n⁺ silicon diodes are found to be in good agreement with the theory presented here.     

Mechanisms of current flow in Au-CdTe contacts with a modified surface

The reverse current-voltage characteristics of surface-barrier diodes based on n-CdTe with a surface modified by treating in an aqueous solution of alkali metal salts have been investigated. The reverse current is found to have a tunneling nature at low biases and be caused by avalanche multiplication of carriers as a result of impact ionization at high biases.     

Electrical properties of metal-diamond-like-nanocomposite (Me-DLN) contacts to 6H SiC

We have fabricated tungsten-diamond-like-nanocomposite (W-DLN) Schottky contacts on n-type and p-type 6H SiC (Si-face). The as-deposited n-type and p-type contacts are rectifying and measurement results suggest that the electrical characteristics are dominated by the properties of the tungsten SiC interface. The n-type contacts have a reverse leakage current density of 4.1 × 10⁻³ Acm⁻² and the p-type contacts have a reverse leakage current density of 1.4 × 10⁻⁷ Acm⁻² at −10 V. The n-type contacts have an current-voltage (I-V) extracted effective ϕ_Bn of 0.7 eV with an ideality factor of 1.2 and a capacitance-voltage (C-V) extracted ϕ_Bn of 1.2 e V. The p-type contacts have an I-V extracted effective ϕ_Bp of 1.8 eV with an ideality factor of 1.7. Non-ideal I-V and C-V characteristics may be due to surface damage during W-DLN deposition.     

Theory of steady-state plane tunneling-assisted impact ionization waves

The effect of band-to-band and trap-assisted tunneling on the properties of steady-state plane ionization waves in p ⁺-n-n ⁺ structures is theoretically analyzed. It is shown that such tunneling-assisted impact ionization waves do not differ in a qualitative sense from ordinary impact ionization waves propagating due to the avalanche multiplication of uniformly distributed seed electrons and holes. The quantitative differences of tunneling-assisted impact ionization waves from impact ionization waves are reduced to a slightly different relation between the wave velocity u and the maximum field strength E _M at the front. It is shown that disregarding impact ionization does not exclude the possibility of the existence of tunneling-assisted ionization waves; however, their structure radically changes, and their velocity strongly decreases for the same E _M . A comparison of the dependences u(E _M ) for various ionization-wave types makes it possible to determine the conditions under which one of them is dominant. In conclusion, unresolved problems concerning the theory of tunneling-assisted impact ionization waves are discussed and the directions of further studies are outlined.     

MBE-grown HgCdTe multi-layer heterojunction structures for high speed low-noise 1.3–1.6 µm avalanche photodetectors

HgCdTe is an attractive material for room-temperature avalanche photodetectors (APDs) operated at 1.3–1.6 μm wavelengths for fiber optical communication applications because of its bandgap tunability and the resonant enhancement of hole impact ionization for CdTe fractions near 0.73. The HgCdTe based separate absorption and multiplication avalanche photodetector is designed and fabricated for backside illumination through a CdZnTe substrate. The multi-layer device structure is comprised of seven layers including 1). n ⁺ contact 2). n ⁻ diffusion buffer 3). n ⁻ absorber 4). n charge sheet 5). n ⁻ avalanche gain 6). p to form junction, and 7).p ⁺ contact. Several wafers were processed into 45 μm × 45 μm and 100 (μm × 100 μm devices. The mean value of avalanche voltage is 63.7 V measured at room temperature. At 1 GHz, the device shows a gain of about 7 for a gain-bandwidth product of 7 GHz. This first demonstration of an all molecular beam epitaxially grown HgCdTe multi-layer heterojunction structure on CdZnTe substrates represents a significant advance toward the goal of producing reliable room temperature HgCdTe high speed, low noise avalanche photodetectors.     

InAs/GaSb超晶格长波红外探测器暗电流特性分析

利用二极管电流解析模型分析了InAs/GaSb超晶格长波红外探测器暗电流的主导机制。首先,通过变面积二极管I-V测试证实77 K下采用阳极硫化加SiO₂复合钝化的InAs/GaSb超晶格长波红探测器的暗电流主要来自于体电流,而非侧壁漏电流;然后,利用扩散电流、产生复合电流、直接隧穿电流和陷阱辅助隧穿电流模型对InAs/GaSb超晶格长波红外探测器的暗电流进行拟合分析。结果表明:在小的反向偏压下(≤60 mV),器件暗电流主要由产生复合电流主导,而在高偏压下(>60 mV）,器件暗电流则主要由缺陷陷阱辅助隧穿电流主导。并分析了吸收层掺杂浓度对这两种电流的影响,证实5×1015~1×1016 cm?3是优化的掺杂浓度。     

Fast neutron radiation damage effects on high resistivity silicon junction detectors

P ⁺ −n ^{−n +} silicon radiation detectors made of high resistivity Si material (ρ ≥ 2 kΩ-cm) were irradiated to a neutron fluence of a few times of 10¹³ n/cm². Dependence of detector leakage current, reverse bias capacitance, and effective doping concentration of the Si substrate on the neutron fluence have been systematically studied. It has been found that the detector leakage current increases linearly with neutron fluence in the range studies, with a damage constant of α = 9 × 10⁻¹⁷ A/cm(ΔI = αΔAϕ_n @#@), and the C-V characteristics of detectors irradiated to ϕ_n > 10¹² n/cm² become frequency dependent. Models using several defect levels in the band gap are proposed to describe the frequency dependent C-V effects and the electrical field profile after high neutron fluence irradiation. This research was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy: Contract No. DE-AC02-76CH00016.     

Single-electron effect in PtSi/porous Si Schottky junctions

PtSi/porous Si schottky junctions exhibit a breakdown type current-voltage (I-V) curve in reverse bias mode. Below breakdown their current density is much less than regular PtSi/Si junctions. The breakdown voltage decreases with application of infrared radiation for both n and p-type junctions. N-type junctions are sensitive to IR wavelengths of up to 7 /spl mu/m even at room temperature. The small reverse bias current, the change of breakdown voltage with radiation, and IR sensitivity at room temperature can all be explained by single-electron effect. Numerical results show that representative porous schottky junctions exhibit depletion capacitances in 10/sup -19/ f range which is enough to observe single-electron effect at room temperature. Single-electron effect and avalanche multiplication can explain existing experimental data.     

1/f noise in very-long-wavelength infrared Hg1−xCdx Te detectors

This paper investigates 1/f noise performance of very-long-wavelength infrared (VLWIR) Hg_1−xCd_xTe (cutoff wavelengths λ_c=15 μm and λ_c=16 μm) photodiodes at 78 K, where detector current is varied by changing detector area, detector bias, and illumination conditions. Holding detector bias and temperature constant, the 1/f noise current is proportional to the detector current. Significant nonuniformity is observed in the noise data for each detector area because of the varying detector quality. Defects are presumed resident in the detectors to produce greater nonuniformity in 1/f noise as compared to dark current at 100-mV reverse bias. For λ_c=16 μm, 4-μ-radius, diffusion-limited diodes at 78 K and 100-mV reverse bias, the average dark current is I_d=9.76±1.59×10⁻⁸ A, while the average noise current measured at 1 Hz is i_n=1.01±0.63×10⁻¹² A/Hz^1/2. For all detector areas measured, the average ratio in 1-Hz bandwidth is α _D =i_n/I_d=1.39±1.09×10⁻⁵. The 1/f noise was also measured on one diode as a function of detector-dark current as the applied bias is varied. In the diffusion-limited portion of this detector’s current-voltage (I-V) curve, to about 130 mV, the 1/f noise was independent of bias. For this diode, the ratio α_D=i_n/I_d=1.51±0.12×10⁻⁵. The 1/f noise associated with tunneling currents is a factor of 3 greater than the 1/f noise associated with diffusion currents, α_T=i_n/I_T=5.21±0.83×10⁻⁵. In addition, 1/f noise was measured on detectors held at −100 mV and 78K under dark and illuminated conditions. The measured ratios α_P ∼α_D ∼1.5×10⁻⁵ were about the same for the dark and photon-induced diffusion currents. Therefore, the diffusion current appears to have a unique value of α as compared to the tunneling current. This may be indicative of unique noise-generation mechanisms associated with each current.     

不同钝化层结构的长波碲镉汞光伏探测器的γ辐照效应

对采用单层ZnS和双层CdTe/ZnS两种钝化层结构的长波碲镉汞光伏器件进行了实时γ辐照效应研究.通过辐照过程中实时测试器件的电流-电压特性,发现随着辐照剂量的增加,两种器件表现出不同的辐照效应.结合光伏器件的电流机制分析,对器件的电阻-电压曲线进行数值拟合,发现器件的主要电流机制在偏压较大时为间接隧道电流,在偏压较小及零偏压附近时为产生-复合电流.对辐照前后器件的电阻-电压曲线进行对比分析,认为CdTe/ZnS双层钝化结构有助于降低辐照位移效应的影响,使得器件间接隧道电流随辐照剂量无明显的增加;同时发现辐照电离效应的影响与器件材料的初始性能参数密切相关,拟合得到ZnS单层钝化结构的器件具有较高的少子产生-复合寿命,受电离效应的影响较大,导致其产生-复合电流随着辐照剂量增加持续增大.     

Hydrogen passivation of n+p and p+n heteroepitaxial InP solar cell structures

Dislocations and related point defect complexes caused by lattice mismatch currently limit the performance of heteroepitaxial InP cells by introducing shunting paths across the active junction and by the formation of deep traps within the base region. We have previously demonstrated that plasma hydrogenation is an effective and stable means to passivate the electrical activity of such defects within heteroepitaxial InP layers. In this work, we present our first results on the hydrogen passivation of ac tual heteroepitaxial n⁺p and p⁺n InP cell structures grown on GaAs substrates by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). We have found that a 2-h exposure to a 13.56-MHz hydrogen plasma at 275°C reduces the deep level co ncentration in the base regions of both n⁺p and p⁺n heteroepitaxial InP cell structures from as-grown values of 5–7 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻³, down to 3–5 × 10¹² cm⁻³. All dopants were successfully reactivated by a 400°C, 5-min anneal with no detectable activation of deep levels. Current-voltage (I-V) analysis indicated a subsequent ∼100-fold decrease in reverse leakage current at 1 V reverse bias, and an impro ved built-in voltage for the p⁺n structures. In addition to being passivated, dislocations are also shown to participate in secondary interactions during hydrogenation. We find that the presence of dislocations enhances hydrogen diffusion into the cell structure and lowers the apparent dissociation energy of Zn-H complexes from 1.19 eV for homoepitaxial Zn-doped InP to 1.12 eV for heteroepitaxial Zn-doped InP. This is explained by additional hydrogen trapping at dislocations subsequent to the r eactivation of Zn dopants after hydrogenation.     

1/f noise in large-area Hg<Subscript>1−x</Subscript>Cd<Subscript>x</Subscript>Te photodiodes

The 1/f noise in photovoltaic (PV) molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE)-grown Hg_1−xCd_xTe double-layer planar heterostructure (DLPH) large-area detectors is a critical noise component with the potential to limit sensitivity of the cross-track infrared sounder (CrIS) instrument. Therefore, an understanding of the origins and mechanisms of noise currents in these PV detectors is of great importance. Excess low-frequency noise has been measured on a number of 1000-μm-diameter active-area detectors of varying “quality” (i.e., having a wide range of I-V characteristics at 78 K). The 1/f noise was measured as a function of cut-off wavelength under illuminated conditions. For short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors at 98 K, minimal 1/f noise was measured when the total current was dominated by diffusion with white noise spectral density in the mid-10⁻¹⁵A/Hz^1/2 range. For SWIR detectors dominated by other than diffusion current, the ratio, α, of the noise current in unit bandwidth i_n(f = 1 Hz, V_d = −60 mV, and Δf = 1 Hz) to dark current I_d(V_d = −60 mV) was α_SW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 1 × 10⁻³. The SWIR detectors measured at 0 mV under illuminated conditions had median α_SW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 7 × 10⁻⁶. For mid-wave infrared (MWIR) detectors, α_MW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 2 × 10⁻⁴, due to tunneling current contributions to the 1/f noise. Measurements on forty-nine 1000-μm-diameter MWIR detectors under illuminated conditions at 98 K and −60 mV bias resulted in α_MW-P = i_n/I_ph = 4.16 ± 1.69 × 10⁻⁶. A significant point to note is that the photo-induced noise spectra are nearly identical at 0 mV and 100 mV reverse bias, with a noise-current-to-photocurrent ratio, α_MW-P, in the mid 10⁻⁶ range. For long-wave infrared (LWIR) detectors measured at 78 K, the ratio, α_LW-d = i_n/I_d ∼ 6 × 10⁻⁶, for the best performers. The majority of the LWIR detectors exhibited α_LW-d on the order of 2 × 10⁻⁵. The photo-induced 1/f noise had α_LW-P = i_n/I_ph ∼ 5 × 10⁻⁶. The value of the noise-current-to-dark-current ratio, α appears to increase with increasing bandgap. It is not clear if this is due to different current mechanisms impacting 1/f noise performance. Measurements on detectors of different bandgaps are needed at temperatures where diffusion current is the dominant current. Excess low-frequency noise measurements made as a function of detector reverse bias indicate 1/f noise may result primarily from the dominant current mechanism at each particular bias. The 1/f noise was not a direct function of the applied bias.     

Dark current reduction in nano-avalanche photodiodes by incorporating multiple quantum barriers

Multiple quantum barriers have been used to suppress the dark current of nanoscale avalanche photodiodes (APDs). The n⁺–π–p⁺-structured Si–3C-SiC heterojunction-based multiple quantum barrier (MQB) APDs are considered and a detailed model of dark current has been developed from the self-consistent solution of the coupled Schrödinger–Poisson equations. Four major types of electron–hole pair (EHP) generation mechanisms such as (1) thermal generation, (2) band-to-band tunnelling generation, (3) trap-assisted tunnelling generation and (4) avalanche generation are considered for calculating variation of the total dark current with reverse bias voltage. It is observed that the dark current can be suppressed significantly by increasing both the number and thickness of quantum barriers. However, the authors have also admitted that both the number and thickness of quantum barriers cannot be increased indefinitely, since it will cause deterioration in spectral response of the device in near-infrared range (λ < 1100 nm).     

Short-wavelength infrared array avalanche photodetectors on the basis of InGaAs heteroepitaxial structures

SWIR ADP 320 × 256 FPAs based on p–i–n photodiodes in InGaAs heterostructures have been developed and investigated. The typical InGaAs/InP PIN heterostructures are formed by Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (MOVPE) on n⁺ type InP substrates. The InGaAs/InP PIN photodiodes performance have been estimated by measuring current-voltage characteristics. APD arrays are designed using a mesa-passivated avalanche photodiode device array of p–i–n junctions in heterostructure with common absorption and multiplication regions. The optimal operating point for managing avalanche application depended on various factors has been started at 15 V bias and the multiplication coefficient was of 2–4.