Degradation mechanisms of gamma irradiated LWIR HgCdTe photovoltaic detectors

Author

Sarusi, G. ; Eger, D. ; Zemel, A. ; Mainzer, Nili ; Goshen, R. ; Weiss, Eliezer

Author_Institution

Soreq Nucl. Res. Center, Yavne, Israel

Volume

37

Issue

6

fYear

1990

fDate

12/1/1990 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

2042

Lastpage

2049

Abstract

Planar n⁺p Hg_1-x Cd_xTe (x=0.23) photodiodes passivated with ZnS were irradiated by a Co⁶⁰ gamma source. A strong increase in the reverse dark current was observed for doses above 0.3 Mrad(air). A similar effect is found by exposing the photodiodes to UV illumination from a high-pressure mercury lamp. By filtering the UV light it is shown that the degradation in the performance of the photodiodes is caused by the light or radiation absorbed in the ZnS layer above the implanted n-type region. C-V measurements of irradiated MIS devices showed a significant increase in the fast surface state density. Galvanomagnetic and lifetime measurements made on irradiated p-type HgCdTe layer showed no significant changes in the bulk transport parameters. Based on these findings, a model for the degradation mechanism is proposed

Keywords

II-VI semiconductors; gamma-ray effects; infrared detectors; mercury compounds; metal-insulator-semiconductor devices; passivation; photodiodes; radiation hardening (electronics); zinc compounds; 3E5 rad; ⁶⁰Co gamma rays; C-V measurements; Hg lamp radiation; Hg_0.77Cd_0.23Te; HgCdTe-ZnS; LWIR photodiodes; UV illumination; ZnS layer; degradation mechanism; fast surface state density; galvanomagnetic measurements; irradiated MIS devices; lifetime measurements; long wavelength infrared; model; planar n⁺p photodiodes; reverse dark current; semiconductor; Dark current; Degradation; Lamps; Lighting; Mercury (metals); Photodiodes; Photovoltaic systems; Solar power generation; Tellurium; Zinc compounds;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Nuclear Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0018-9499

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/23.101227

Filename

101227