Deep-level configuration of GaAs:Si:Cu: a material for a new type of optoelectronic switch

Karl H. Schoenbach; Hans-Joachim Schulz; Vishnu K. Lakdawala; B. M. Kimpel; Ralf Peter Brinkmann; Rudolf K.F. Germer; Gordon R. Barevadia

doi:10.1117/12.24476

1 February 1991 Deep-level configuration of GaAs:Si:Cu: a material for a new type of optoelectronic switch

Karl H. Schoenbach, Hans-Joachim Schulz, Vishnu K. Lakdawala, B. M. Kimpel, Ralf Peter Brinkmann, Rudolf K.F. Germer, Gordon R. Barevadia

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 1362, Physical Concepts of Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II: Device Physics and Applications; (1991) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.24476
Event: Physical Concepts of Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications, 1990, Aachen, Germany

Abstract

Photocurrents in the ampere range were generated and optically quenched, respectively, in a new type of semiconductor switch on a nanosecond timescale using two lasers of different wavelength. The semi-insulating switch material is GaAs, doped with silicon and compensated with copper, which forms sets of deep acceptors below the middle of the band gap. The photoconductivity in this system is generated by electron and hole ionization from these centers and subsequent fast hole retrapping. Quenching of the photoconductivity is accomplished by hole ionization from copper centers and subsequent electron-hole recombination. The densities of Cu/Si related defects in the various deep levels determine the switch efficiency and its temporal response to the laser pulses. This distribution is very sensitive to variations in the processing procedure of the switch material. Besides photocurrent measurements, Photo-induced Current Transient Spectroscopic (PICTS) studies have been performed in order to determine the activation energy of the deep centers. Additional informations on the deep-level structure of GaAs:Si:Cu were obtained by cathodoluminescence spectra and decay experiments at cryo-temperatures.

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Karl H. Schoenbach, Hans-Joachim Schulz, Vishnu K. Lakdawala, B. M. Kimpel, Ralf Peter Brinkmann, Rudolf K.F. Germer, and Gordon R. Barevadia "Deep-level configuration of GaAs:Si:Cu: a material for a new type of optoelectronic switch", Proc. SPIE 1362, Physical Concepts of Materials for Novel Optoelectronic Device Applications II: Device Physics and Applications, (1 February 1991); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.24476

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