A new slowrelaxation phenomenon in semiinsulating GaAs

S. Nojima

Citation: J. Appl. Phys. 57, 620 (1985); doi: 10.1063/1.334750

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.334750
View Table of Contents: http://jap.aip.org/resource/1/JAPIAU/v57/i2
Published by the AIP Publishing LLC.

Additional information on J. Appl. Phys.

Journal Homepage: http://jap.aip.org/
Journal Information: http://jap.aip.org/about/about_the_journal
Top downloads: http://jap.aip.org/features/most_downloaded
Information for Authors: http://jap.aip.org/authors

Downloaded 07 Aug 2013 to 134.30.73.79. This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
A new slow-re~axation phenomenon in semi-insu!ating GaAs
s. Nojima
Atsugi Electrical Communication Laboratory, Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation, Atsugi,
Kanagawa 243-01, Japan

(Received 5 June 1984; accepted for publication 17 August 1984)

A new type of slow-relaxation phenomena is found in low-temperature photoconductivity for
undoped semi-insulating GaAs: Irradiation by secondary light subsequent to the primary-light
irradiation induces a rapid increase followed by a gradual exponential decrease in
photoconductivity. This phenomenon cannot be explained by conventional photoelectric fatigue,
though these are similar to each other. A model is proposed to explain this phenomenon,
involving a dynamical transition of carriers by primary- and secondary-light irradiation. This
model is consistent with the results of annealing experiments for the phenomenon.

Deep levels in semi-insulating GaAs crystals are be-
coming of great interest! because semi-insulating properties
are directly connected to the properties of deep levels present
in these crystals. Through the recent in-depth studies, some
of the details are becoming clearer, in particular, for the
main deep level called EL2. One of the most striking charac-
teristics of this deep level is that it is believed to take part in
the generation of some kind of slow-relaxation phenomena 2
such as a photoelectric fatigue. 3-5
This paper reports a slow-relaxation phenomenon ob-
served in low-temperature photoconductivity for semi-insu-
lating GaAs, which is similar to photoelectric fatigue, but is
verified to be caused by a mechanism different from that of
conventional fatigue.
The crystals evaluated are undoped semi-insulating
GaAs grown by the liquid-encapsulated Czochralski (LEC)
method using a pBN crucible. These crystals are already
confirmed, 6 using photoinduced transient spectroscopy
(PITS) method, 7 to possess a dominant deep level with
-0.65-eV activation energy. Photoconductivity measure-
ments have been carried out at 77 K by irradiating a 2.5 X 2.5
mm 2 area between the two terminal electrodes, which are
fabricated by evaporating AuGelNi followed by sintering at
450°C for 20 min in a H2 flow.
Figure I shows the results of photoconductivity in-
duced by secondary-light irradiation subsequent to the pri-
mary-light irradiation. The main feature of the results in Fig.
1 can be characterized by a rapid increase and a subsequent
gradual exponential decrease in photoconductivity that oc-
cur simultaneously with the secondary-light irradiation [see
item (1) belowJ. The time constants for rise and decay in this
photoconductivity are approximately 1 and 40 sec, respec-
tively. Here, the photon energies hv! -1.24 eV and
hV2 - O. 85 e V for primary and secondary light, respectively,
are used in this experiment, because a striking phenomenon
is observed around these photon energies. A primary-light
duration of2 min is chosen, of which the behavior of photo-
conductivity is almost independent if it is longer than - 1

PRIMARY liGHT hV.

SECONDARY LIGHT hlJ2

FIG. 1. Waveform of photoconductivity

PHOTOCONDUCTIVITY 77K occurring simultaneously with secondary-
. 1m light irradiation (hV,-O.8S eV) subse-
quent to primary-light irradiation
(hV2-1.24 eV). Sample temperature is
kept at 77 K throughout this experiment.
1m and I, denote maximum level and satu-
rated floor level in photoconductivity, re-
spectively.

-------~------------~~~~r-----------L-------------
-imin TIME

620 J. Appl. Phys. 57 (2),15 January 1985 0021-8979/85/020620-03$02.40 © 1985 American Institute of Physics 620
Downloaded 07 Aug 2013 to 134.30.73.79. This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
 min. The features for this phenomenon are summarized as
follows:
(1) Irradiation by hV2 subsequent to hv 1 induces a rapid
increase to a certain maximum level 1m followed by a gra-
dual exponential decrease to a saturated floor level Is in pho-
toconductivity.
(2) hV2 interception erases the photoconductivity and
the following hV2 irradiation regenerates only a stationary
photoconductivity Is'
(3) hV J reirradiation regenerates the phenomenon (1).
(4) hV2 irradiation prior to any irradiation processes
generates only a stationary photoconductivity Is·
This kind of phenomenon has not yet been reported,
though it is similar to what has been called photoelectric
fatigue or quenching of photoconductivity,3 photocapaci-
tance,4 and photoluminescence. 5 However, conventional fa-
tigue is believed to occur as a result of single-light irradiation
and moreover by the irradiation oflight with a photon ener-
gy near -l.l eV. As mentioned above, the present pheno-
menon is generated by light with a relatively low photon
energy (-0.85 eV) and is observed only when the sample has
been "preirradiated" by the primary light with a "higher"
photon energy. Hence, this phenomenon is considered to be
dominated by a mechanism different from that of conven-
tional fatigue.
The most pronounced feature in this phenomenon [see
(1) above] can be intuitively explained in the following way:
the crystal, which has been driven into some kind of excited
state by the primary-light irradiation, may release carriers
into the conduction band as a result of the subsequent secon-
dary light irradiation, to generate the photoconductivity in
Fig. 1. Since hV J + hV2 evidently exceeds the GaAs gap ener-
gy, some transitions involving the defect levels with large
lattice relaxation must necessarily be taken into account to
reasonably understand the phenomenon.
Figure 2 is a configuration-coordinate model proposed
to represent these processes. Level X can be regarded as the
EL2-related deep level (-0.65 eV) that is dominant in this
CEl
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
CONflWRATION - COOROlNATE
(0) TRANSITION BY
621 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 57, No.2, 15 January 1985
Downloaded 07 Aug 2013 to 134.30.73.79. This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions
crystal, as mentioned previously. It seems pertinent to re-
gard level Yas an excited state of level X, which is in general
considered to be metastable. 4 Consider that level X is ther-
modynamically occupied by electrons in the dark stationary
state. At the first excitation stage, the primary-light irradia-
tion induces a transition of electrons from level X to level Y
[pumping process; see Fig. 2(a)] and drives the crystal into an
excited state. The electrons excited to level Yare fairly sta-
ble, in generaV at low temperatures. Next, the secondary-
light irradiation causes an emission of the electrons at level Y
into the conduction band [ionizing process; see Fig. 2(b)), to
generate a photoconductivity as shown in Fig. 1: the author
tentatively calls this a spike photoconductivity (SPC). It is
plausible that this transition may be dominated by the two-
step excitation process via level X, as shown in Fig. 2(b),
because direct ionization from level Y to the conduction
band is forbidden for the present photon-energy range
(-0.85 eV). This model is able to explain all of the features
for the present phenomenon, described above [(lH4)].
The diagram shown in Fig. 2 is consistent with the dia-
gram presented to explain conventional fatigue effects. 4 In
general, conventional fatigue is explained4 •s through the fol-
lowing processes that occur simultaneously: ionization of
electrons at level X to the conduction band and transition of
electrons at level X to level Yby single-light irradiation [the
same process as in Fig. 2(a)]. The decrease in the population
of electrons at level X causes a decay (fatigue) in the photo-
conductivity. In contrast to this, it is essential in the present
phenomenon that the waveform of photoconductivity in Fig.
1 is interpreted as the superposition of the spike conductivity
having a maximum level 1m upon the stationary conductiv-
ity Is: This spike conductivity is induced by the dynamical
transition of electrons at level Y into the conduction band as
a result of secondary-light irradiation.
It is clearly demonstrated in the annealing experiments
that this model is pertinent to explaining the phenomenon.
Figure 3 shows the results of annealing experiments, which
have been carried out along the lines of the model in Fig. 2.
CB
FIG. 2. Configuration-coordinate model pro-
posed to explain the phenomenon in Fig. I.
CB and VB denote the conduction band and
the valence band, respectively. X and Yare
deep levels present in GaAs jsee text).ja) Tran-
sition process induced by primary-light irra-
diation (pumping from level X to level Y); (b)
transition process induced by secondary-light
irradiation (ionizing from level YvialevelX to
the conduction band).
ttYI (b) TRANSITION BY h~
S. Nojima 621
 h\At _1.24eV FIG. 3. Results of annealing ex-
periments for the photoconductiv-
h~z-O.85eV ity induced by sequential two-
100K beam irradiation. Insets represent
the annealing procedure, where a
triangular temperature program is
employed in the experiment. Var-
ious waveforms of photoconduc-
tivity occurring simultaneously
with the secondary-light irradia-
tion are shown for different anneal-
ing temperatures.

o 6 \I 6 If 6 \I
o
I

-Imin

The annealing procedure is shown in the insets of Fig. 3. A
triangular temperature program is employed for annealing
(the temperature variation takes 3 and 1 min for rise and fall,
respectively). First, the sample is irradiated at 77 K by the
primary light. After the annealing up to the temperature T,
the sample is irradiated at 77 K by the secondary light. Fig-
ure 3 shows the waveforms of photoconductivity occurring
simultaneously with the secondary-light irradiation for sam-
ples annealed at various temperatures. As is clear from Fig.
3, annealing weakens the present phenomenon. This result
can be understood from the above model, as follows. The
annealing in Fig. 3 is believed to thermally deexcite the elec-
trons that have been excited to level Yby the primary-light
irradiation. The decrease by annealing in the population of
electrons at level Y leads to the weakening of the pheno-
menon, because this phenomenon is induced by the ioniza-
tion of electrons at level Yby the subsequent secondary-light
irradiation. This result is in contrast to conventional fatigue:
Annealing weakens the present phenomenon, but does in-
tensify conventional fatigue. The difference may arise from
the following: the present phenomenon is believed to be in-
duced by the ionization of electrons located at level Y as
modeled in Fig. 2, whereas many conventional fatigue effects
are considered4 •s to be induced by the transition of electrons
located at level X.
From this, it can be conduded that the present slow-
relaxation phenomenon has not yet been reported and this
can be called a spike photoconductivity (SPC). Detailed in-
vestigations concerning this phenomenon are now in pro-
gress, from a viewpoint of the determination of several ener-
gy differences between the levels, in order to construct a
strict self-consistent configuration-coordinate model.
The author would like to thank Professor T. Ikoma of
Tokyo University for valuable comments and discussions.
He is also grateful to T. lzawa and Y. Imamura for contin-
ued interest in this work.
ISee, for example, Semi-insulating III- V Materials, edited by S. Makram-
Ebeid and B. Tuck (Shiva, Cheshire, 1982).
2M. K. Sheinkman and A. Ya. Shik. Fiz. Tekh. Poluprovodn. 10.209 (1976)
(Sov. Phys. Semicond. 10, 128 (1976)].
3G. P. Peka, V. A. Brodovoi. 1. I. Mishova, and L. Z. Mirets, Fiz. Tekh.
Poluprovodn. 12,915 (1978) [Sov. Phys. Semicond. 12. 540 (1978)1.
"G. Vincent and O. Bois, Solid State Commun. 27, 431 (1978).
5p. Leyral, G. Vincent, A. Nouailhat, and G. Guillot, Solid State Commun.
42,67 (1982).
~. Nojima, unpublished.
1C. Hurtes, A. Boulou, A. Mittonneau. and D. Bois, Appl. Phys. Lett. 32,
821 (1978).

622 J. Appl. Phys., Vol. 57, No.2, 15 January 1985 S. Nojima 622
Downloaded 07 Aug 2013 to 134.30.73.79. This article is copyrighted as indicated in the abstract. Reuse of AIP content is subject to the terms at: http://jap.aip.org/about/rights_and_permissions