Diffusion characteristics of gold in silicon and electrical properties of silicon diodes used for developing radiation-hard detectors

Low-resistivity n-type silicon has been doped with gold and characterised using Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and Hall effect measurements. Schottky barrier diodes were fabricated on silicon with no gold and on gold-doped silicon and then characterised using current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements. Results from the material characterisation experiments show that the diffusion profile of gold in thin silicon substrates is U-shaped and that gold-doped silicon has a higher resistivity. Results from the device characterisation experiments indicate a deviation from “normal” diode behaviour to ohmic behaviour. The diode characteristics become typical of devices made of high resistivity material with relaxation-like properties, a material that is suitable for radiation-hard detector fabrication.