Zener current contribution to the resistance-area product of 8- to 14-µm Hg1-xCdxTe photodiodes

The effect of Zener current, due to the internal field emission in the space-charge region of an n⁺-p junction, on the zero-bias resistance-area product RoA of narrow-bandgap HgCdTe photodiodes has been investigated theoretically. It is shown that the contribution of this mechanism in these photodiodes could appreciably lower the RoA product in the temperature range of 10 to 100 K.