Highly reliable silicon carbide photodiodes for visible-blind ultraviolet detector applications
D. Prasai1, W. John1, L. Weixelbaum1, O. Krüger1, G. Wagner2, P. Sperfeld3, S. Nowy3, D. Friedrich3, S. Winter3, T. Weiss4
Published in:
J. Mater. Res., vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 33-37 (2013).
Abstract:
Highly efficient polytype 4H silicon carbide (4H-SiC) p−n diodes for ultraviolet (UV) light detection have been fabricated, characterized, and exposed to high-intensity mercury lamp irradiation (up to 17 mW/cm2). The behavior of the photocurrent response under UV light irradiation using a low-pressure mercury UV-C lamp (4 mW/cm2) and a medium-pressure mercury discharge lamp (17 mW/cm2) has been studied. We report on long-term UV photoaging tests performed for up to 22 mo. Results demonstrate the robustness of SiC photodiodes against UV radiation. The devices under test showed an initial burn-in effect, i.e., the photocurrent response dropped by less than 5% within the first 40 h of artificial UV aging. Such burn-in effect under UV stress was also observed for previously available polytype 6H silicon carbide (6H−SiC) p−n photodetectors. After burn-in, no measurable degradation has been detected, which makes the devices excellent candidates for high irradiance UV detector applications.
1 Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, Gustav-Kirchhoff-Straße 4, D-12489 Berlin, Germany
2 Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung, 12489 Berlin, Germany
3 Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig und Berlin, 4.1 Photometry and Applied Radiometry, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
4 sglux GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Keywords:
PHOTODIODES, SiC, silicon, Silicon carbide, SILICON-CARBIDE.
© Cambridge University Press 2013. Personal use of this material is permitted. However, permission to reprint/republish this material for advertising or promotional purposes or for creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or to reuse any copyrighted component of this work in other works must be obtained from the Cambridge University Press.
Full version in pdf-format.