Deep level domain spectroscopy of low frequency oscillations in semi-insulating InP

Abstract

It is known that low frequency current oscillations occur in semi-insulating GaAs due to the formation and transit of high field domains caused by enhanced trapping of hot electrons by deep levels and that power density spectra of the current show peaks whose temperature dependence gives information on deep levels. In the present work Fe-compensated InP was investigated. The peaks rose from an approximately 1 f 3 2 background and by estimating and removing this and by averaging many spectra, no less than 14 frequency peaks were resolved which gave straight lines on an Arrhenius plot of log( T 2 2f ) vs 1 T . Although the amplitude of the current oscillations is not so large as to preclude multiple domain propagation, it seems more likely that the domains are caused by hot electron trapping by one level only, rather than that several traps should have the necessary characteristics to launch domains. The multiplicity of peaks could be partly due to harmonics of the basic high field domain oscillation and partly due to conductivity modulation by other levels whose occupancies are changed by the passage of the domains: the task, if so, is to determine which peaks are which. The activation energies from the Arrhenius plots fell into groups close to 0.30, 0.39, 0.41, 0.44 and 0.49 eV. The 14 peaks thus are believed to arise from 5 deep levels. Evidence was found that the 0.49 eV level is iron-related and is responsible for producing the high field domains and for drain current drift in InP metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistors.