Mid-infrared photoconductive properties of heavily Bi-doped PbTe p–n homojunction diode grown by liquid-phase epitaxy

Autor: Jun-ichi Nishizawa, Yatsuhiro Takahashi, Arata Yasuda, Ken Suto
Rok vydání: 2014
Předmět:
Zdroj: Infrared Physics & Technology. 67:609-612
ISSN: 1350-4495
DOI: 10.1016/j.infrared.2014.10.002
Popis: We fabricated a heavily Bi-doped ( x Bi ≈ 2 × 10 19 cm −3 ) PbTe p–n homojunction diode that detects mid-infrared wavelengths by the temperature difference method (TDM) under controlled vapor pressure (CVP) liquid phase epitaxy (LPE). The photocurrent density produced by the heavily Bi-doped diode sample is approximately 20 times and 3 times greater than that produced by an undoped and heavily In-doped sample, respectively. By varying the ambient temperature from 15 K to 225 K, the detectable wavelength is tunable from 6.18 μm to 4.20 μm. The peak shift of the detectable wavelength is shorter in the heavily Bi-doped sample than in the undoped sample, consistent with our previously proposed model, in which Bi–Bi nearest donor–acceptor pairs are formed in the heavily Bi-doped PbTe liquid phase epitaxial layer. Current–voltage ( I – V ) measurements of the heavily Bi-doped diode sample under infrared exposure at 77 K indicated a likely leak in the dark current, arising from the deeper levels. From the dark I – V measurements, the activation energy of the deep level was estimated as 0.067 eV, close to the energy of the deep Tl-doped PbTe acceptor layer. We conclude that the deep level originates from the Tl-doped p-type epitaxial layer.
Databáze: OpenAIRE