Analysis of transients in semiconductor/semi-insulator junctions

A junction between an epitaxial semiconductor and a semi-insulating substrate serves as a tool for analyzing transient behavior in semi-insulators (SI). At equilibrium a narrow region which is fully depleted from electrons exists in the SI. The application of a reverse bias results in an additional partially depleted region, initially depleted just from free carriers, adjacent to the fully depleted one. As the transient progresses electrons are released from the deep traps in the SI. The partially depleted region collapses into a wider fully depleted region. This process is manifested by a substantial current transient through the SI. The charges emitted recombine in the epitaxial layer leading to a decrease in its conductance due to a narrowing conducting path. Thus it is possible to characterize this process by measuring the (large) current through the epilayer rather than the (small) current through the SI. These transients are a function of the emission coefficient. Their analysis provides data also on the energy gap of the traps, their capture coefficient, and the electron lifetime. The long decays can be accelerated by illuminating with photons of energy below the band gap but larger than the energy spacing between the deep traps and the conduction band.