Silicon PIN Diode Research Articles

A semiconductor-scintillator telescope using a single silicon diode

A novel type of detector telescope suited for charged particle identification is proposed. It consists of a large area silicon PIN diode optically coupled to a CsI(Tl) crystal having about the same cross section as the silicon detector: the peculiarity of the proposed telescope is that the silicon detector acts as a ΔE element and at the same time as a photosensitive device for the fluorescence light produced in the crystal by the penetrating particle. A proper filtering of the signal has been used in order to reconstruct the complementary information ( ΔE and E res) from the composite output waveform of the charge preamplifier coupled to the silicon detector. Prototypes of the telescope have been built and used to detect light particles produced in heavy ion collisions at low (8 MeV/n) and high (300 MeV/n) bombarding energies; results are presented and discussed.

A two-dimensional image sensor with a [sbnd]Si:H pin diodes

A two-dimensional contact-type image sensor consisting of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a Si:H) pin diodes forming an 128 × 128 array with high speed (8 frames/s) and high resolution (16 elements/mm 2) has been developed. To obtain a high signal-to-noise ratio and an excellent reproduced image, fabrication of pin diodes with 11 orders of magnitude rectification at ± 4 V and a reverse leakage current below 10 −11 A/mm 2 up to - 15 V required partial elimination of the reactive ion etching (RIE) damage. The resulting sensor showed a signal-to-noise ratio larger than 15 dB at an exposure level of 0.5 lx · s and it could reproduce an image of 200 μm wide stripe lines clearly.

Steady State Photocarrier Charge Collection in a-Si:H for Electrons and Holes

AbstractCarrier transport in amorphous silicon pin-diodes has been analyzed by steady state photocarrier charge collection applying strongly absorbed light. For low intensities at room temperature electron charge collection is limited by recombination in the generation region. For increasing intensity ø and/or decreasing temperature charge collection becomes nonlinear in ø and shows S-like characteristics versus voltage.We present a model for this behaviour, including space charge limitation which e.g. for holes in a-Si:H limits charge collection even at room temperature due to low extended state mobility of holes and dark Fermi level position above midgap.

Silicon pin diode array hybrids for charged particle detection

We report on the design of silicon PIN diode array hybrids for use as charged particle detectors. A brief summary of the need for vertex detectors is presented. Circuitry, block diagrams and device specifications are included.

Pattern formation in S-shaped negative differential conductivity material

To study the electrical current density and the potential distribution inS-shaped negative differential conductivity materials, a theoretical model is developed which is based upon the introduction of an interface dividing the material into two parts of different electrical behaviour. This interface model which leads to a set of coupled nonlinear evolution equations for two physical quantities at the boundary layer is that of an activator inhibitor type as used to describe self-controlled processes in chemistry and biology. Numerical calculations of inhomogeneous stationary states are presented for various parameters. From the numerical calculations these states are found to be stable with respect to small variations of the parameters (structure-stability) and fluctuations of the dependent variables. The model is confirmed by experiments performed on silicon pin diodes. The measured potential distribution is in a good qualitative agreement with the theoretical calculations.

Properties of solitary current filaments in silicon pin diodes

The properties of current filaments in Si pin diodes are analyzed by measuring the potential distribution between the contacts. The diameter of the filaments is found to be almost independent of the current and increases linearly with the thickness of the device. A comparison with a two-layer model shows a good agreement.

Experimental observation of spatial structures due to current filament formation in silicon pin diodes

Silicon pin diodes exhibit a multistable current voltage characteristic. Experiments show that each jump is generally accompanied by the formation of a current filament. The solitary character of these structures is established by measurements of the spatially resolved potential and temperature distributions and the optical IR-absorption between the contacts.

Development of the EXITE Detector: A New Imaging Detector for 20 - 300 keV Astronomy

We report on the development and testing of a detector to be used in the Energetic X-ray Imaging Telescope Experiment (EXITE). It consists of a 34 cm diameter NaI(Tl) cyrstal coupled directly to a single large image intensifier tube with associated silicon PIN diode readout. The measured spatial and energy resolutions at 122 keV are 6mm (FWHM) and 9% (FWHM), respectively. This energy resolution is ~50% better than that of any previously flown hard x-ray experiment. These resolutions decrease with the square root of the energy of the incident x-ray, indicating that they are determined by the number of photons emitted in the NaI(Tl) scintillator light flash.

PULSE CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE OF X-RAY DETECTOR

A pulsed CuK X-ray source with flux intensity 1018-1019 K X-rays per sr per s has been produced using high current electron beam technique, it has been employed to calibrate the response of the silicon PIN diode detector to pulsed X-ray photon. An absolute X-ray monitor——P10 gas pulse ionization chamber has been used as a standard of the pulsed X-ray flux density, the automatic pulsed charge measuring instrument is controlled and Corrected in real time by a microcomputer. The measured uncertainty of the flux density is ±5%. This chamber is suitable for the range of energy flux rate 4×10-9-2×102 W/cm2 and the range of photon energy 1.5-10 keV. The calibrated accuracy of the detector is ±7.0%. It is found that the pulsed sensitivity of the silicon PIN diode is about 30% higher than the sensitivity calibrated by a steady X-ray beams.

Advances in silicon technology for the semiconductor industry, Part I : Robert B. Swaroop. Solid St. Technol., 111 (June 1983)

An ultrafast lateral silicon PiN diode with geometric traps is proposed using a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate with the traps. The proposed diode successfully suppresses waveform oscillation because the trapped hole suppresses electric field penetration and prevents the oscillation trigger known as “dynamic punch-through.” Because of the short current path caused by the oscillation prevention, the reverse recovery speed was higher and the reverse recovery loss was strongly reduced. The proposed trap structure and design method would contribute to performance improvement of all power semiconductor devices including IGBTs and power MOSFETs.

Hydrogenated amorphous silicon pin diodes with high rectification ratio

We have developed hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) pin diodes with a rectification ratio of up to 10 orders of magnitude by optimizing their junction performance as rectifiers. It has been found that impurity control and careful elimination of parasitic effects are essential for improved device characteristics. The interaction between a-Si:H and Al causes deterioration of junction performance at relatively low temperatures.

Current oscillations due to filamentary double injection in diodes with deep levels

Current oscillations occurring in the positive differential resistance region of the d.c. I–V characteristics of Au-compensated n-type silicon pin diodes have been investigated. The experimental results strongly suggest that the current oscillations are caused by the formation of unstable filaments prior to the occurrence of stable filaments which are connected with the negative differential resistance region typical for double injection diodes with deep levels. On the basis of this model the degree of modulation could be increased up to 30% in our diodes.

Low-temperature field ionization of localized impurity levels in semiconductors

The dynamics of field ionization from localized impurity levels in a semiconductor at low temperatures in an externally applied electric field are studied. The theory predicts a pronounced peak, characteristic of the impurities present and their state of ionization in the I-V curves of devices containing a uniform lightly doped region sandwiched between surface electrodes, provided that the applied voltage is swept sufficiently rapidly. The results of the theory are found to be in good agreement with experiments using silicon pin diodes.

Determination of the temperature dependence of the capture cross-sections of the gold acceptor level and of the temperature of current filaments in silicon pin diodes

The temperature dependence of the capture cross section of negatively charged gold centers in n-type silicon for holes σ is determined in the temperature range of 55 K ≦ T ≦ 340 K from the temperature dependent breakdown voltage UBD of gold compensated pin diodes showing a negative differential resistance region. The temperature dependence of the capture cross section of neutral gold centers in the range of 193 K ≦ T ≦ 320 K, which was obtained in an earlier paper, is confirmed by means of small signal pulse measurements in the high injection regime of the same double injection diodes. The over-temperature caused by Joule heating in current filaments occurring in the high injection region of the stationary S-shaped I–U characteristic is measured for the first time using a large signal pulse method. Es wird die Temperaturabhangigkeit des Einfangquerschnitts von negativ geladenen Goldzentren in n-leitendem Si fur Locher, σ, im Temperaturbereich 55 K ≦ T ≦ 340 K aus der temperaturabhangigen Durchbruchsspannung UBD von goldkompensierten pin-Dioden, die einen Bereich negativen differentiellen Widerstandes aufweisen, bestimmt. Die Temperaturabhangigkeit des Einfangquerschnitts von neutralen Goldzentren im Bereich von 193 K ≦ T ≦ 320 K, die in einer fruheren Arbeit erhalten wurde, wird mittels einer Kleinsignal-Impulsmessung im Hochinjektionsregime von Doppelinjektionsdioden bestatigt. Die durch Joulsche Warme verursachte Ubertemperatur in Stromfaden, die im Hochinjektionsbereich der stationaren S-formigen I–U-Gharakteristiken auftreten, wird zum erstenmal mit einer Grossignal-Impulsmethode gemessen.

Plasma x-ray emission produced by ruby lasers at 1012 W/cm2

Q-switched 20-nsec ruby-laser pulses (∼0.5 GW) were focused to about 1012 W/cm2 on targets containing elements in the range 6⩽Z⩽68. Time- and space-integrated x-ray emission from plasmas 200 μm in diameter with lifetimes near 12 nsec was measured with four active detectors at energies between 0.1 and 5 keV. Maxima in x-ray intensity measured by each detector occurred when binding energies of core electrons in target atoms were 20–30 times the electron plasma temperature. Calculated detector response functions together with coronal-model plasma emission computations were used to analyze the atomic-number dependence of the detector signals. A plasma electron temperature of 70 eV and an electron density of about 4×1020 cm−3 gave the best fit to the ratios of signals. Computed spectra for this temperature showed that the peaks in the low-energy detector (an x-ray diode most sensitive near 0.15 keV) were due in part to line radiation. Peaks in the three detectors sensitive above 1 keV (two silicon PIN diodes and an ionization chamber) were primarily due to recombination radiation. The results of this work augment an earlier similar, but limited, study at 1012 W/cm2.

Pulsed high intensity monoenergetic low energy X-ray source and absolute X-ray monitor

An X-ray source of 1.5, 4.5, or 8.0 keV with 10 ns durations has been produced utilizing a pulsed electron source to excite the characteristic K-line radiation of elemental targets. A parallel plate ionization chamber was calibrated in the NBS standard monoenergetic K X-ray beams and used with Ross filters to measure the pulsed source K X-ray fluence. Typical measured peak X-ray flux intensities are 10 18−10 19 K X-rays per sr per s. The pulsed source contains four identical ports for simultaneous measurements of the K X-ray intensity by the ionization chamber and detectors being calibrated. The pulsed K X-ray source and the NBS standard steady state K X-ray source, which differ in intensity by 10 orders of magnitude, have been utilized to determine the responses of a photoelectric diode, a scintillator-vacuum photodiode combination, and a silicon PIN diode.

Glass Fibers for Optical Communications

Glass fiber optics have been used for many years for flexible light distribution bundles, faceplates for cathode-ray tubes, medical endoscopes, and similar purposes. Only recently (1) has serious research been directed toward the use of glass fiber as a long distance communication medium (2, 3). Such a communication system requires three main components: a transmitter, a receiver, and a transmission medium. The transmitter will most likely consist of a GaAIAs laser or light emitting diode (LED) driven with a digital signal. Such transmitters can operate at a wavelength of 800-900 nm at data rates up to hundreds of megabits per second. Another possible transmitter is based on an externally modulated Nd: YAG laser operating at 1060 nm. The receiver of an optical communication system will probably be a semiconductor photodetector that can be part of an integrated circuit chip used for processing the signal. Silicon avalanche diodes and silicon PIN diodes are sensitive at the GaAIAs wavelengths, and they have been built with bandwidths of at least a few hundred megacycles. Using lasers and avalanche photodiodes, losses of about 75 dB can be tolerated between repeaters operating at 1 megabit/sec, but only 45 dB loss is tolerable at 1000 megabits/sec. An excellent review of 'transmission and receiving devices has been published by Miller, Marcatili & Li (2). The transmission medium will be an optical fiber waveguide, consisting of a core of relatively high refractive index surrounded by a cladding of relatively low refractive index, The maximum tolerable loss per kilometer is governed by the distance over which transmission must take place. Losses as high as 100 dB/km may be acceptable for very short systems, as on airplanes or ships, whereas losses as low as 4 dB/km or less may be required for long distance systems where expensive repeaters must be spaced many kilometers apart. In addition to loss, another important characteristic of glass fiber waveguides

TD-3 System: Active Solid-State Devices

This paper describes the electrical and physical characteristics of 20 new solid-state devices developed for TD-3. Among them are new high-frequency planar, epitaxial, NPN silicon transistors which are used in intermediate-frequency amplifiers and in the FM deviator. The microwave power for the transmitter and receiver is supplied from a three-stage varactor multiplier chain which uses three new epitaxial silicon varactor diodes. A high-quality epitaxial silicon varactor diode pair is the up-converter in the transmitter modulator. A new epitaxial gallium arsenide Schottky barrier mixer diode assures a low noise figure for the receiver modulator. Two point-contact silicon IF and RF monitor diodes were developed using the same miniature package in which the transmitter modulator and receiver modulator diodes are encapsulated. Two very stable diffused silicon diodes provide a stable output from the FM deviator; in-process preaging at accelerated conditions is used to assure satisfactory stability. Two new epitaxial silicon Schottky barrier diodes are used in the IF amplifier-limiter and discriminator circuits, which require a nonlinear resistance with negligible capacitance and recovery time. Stringent voltage breakdown, corona and mounting requirements for the high voltage power supply rectifiers were satisfied by molding two high-voltage diode rectifier assemblies in a high-dielectric plastic. The need for a pure variable resistance in the IF variolosser was satisfied by the development of a new silicon PIN diode.

Atraumatic local labeling of skin by inert gas: epicutaneous application of xenon 133.

Atraumatic local labeling of skin by inert gas: epicutaneous application of xenon 133.

Negative Resistance Phenomena in the Forward Direction of Si PIN-Diodes

The silicon pin-diode in which the width of i-region is from 6 to 12 times the diffusion length shows negative resistance in the forward direction. The current in the forward direction can be interpreted as a mixture of the field-dominated currents and the diffusion-dominated currents. The negative resistance appears to be due to the transition from the diffusion current in a long pin-diode (off-state) to the diffusion current in a shot pin-diode (on-state). Theoretically, the decrease in the applied voltage in the i-region at the onset of the negative resistance is given by VB=2(kT/e)×[exp (W/2L)+W/2L], where W is the width of the i-region and L is the ambipolar diffusion length. This expression agrees with the experimental result.