The Effects of Carrier Induced Displacement Current on the Response of a Semiconductor Avalanche.
Abstract
A small-signal analysis of a semiconductor avalanche is presented for different ionization rates and drift velocities. The results are stated in terms of macroscopic quantities like the multiplication and the intrinsic response time. It is found that the carrier induced displacement current will affect the intrinisc response time even for very low frequencies, which is shown to be of special importance in the design of photodiodes. From the derived small signal admittance it is established that the carrier induced displacement current can give rise to negative equivalent conductance in the limit of very high multiplication, which is in agreement with and gives a physical explanation of earlier computer results. Experimental susceptance measurements are presented which are in agreement with the functional form of the derived admittance. It is shown that a special plot of the data can give a fairly accurate determination of the intrinsic response time, since it allows systematic experimental errors to be removed. The nonlinear theory of Lee et al. has been reviewed. A correction is included which accounts for the distributed displacement current. It is shown that the diffusion of carriers tends to increase the intrinsic response time. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1969
- Accession Number
- AD0847799
Entities
People
- Reidar Lauri Kuvas
Organizations
- Cornell University College of Engineering