The Effect of Oxide Layers and Boron Doping on the Breakdown of High Purity Silicon
Abstract
For many applications such as lasers and radar drive circuits, there exists a need for solid state high voltage, high current switches. Current gaseous discharge switches fail to satisfy the ruggedness, reliability, and lifetime requirements of today's systems. A promising alternative is the Photoconductive Semiconductor Switch (PCSS). The limiting factor in the operation of these switches is the occurrence of breakdown through channels formed slightly below the surface. A theory on the formation of these channels is presented based upon band bending at the metal-semiconductor interface, a nonhomogeneous space charge due to irregular trap distributions, and thermal runaway in localized regions. Experimental results on the effect of thin oxide layers and boron doping at the metal-semiconductor junctions reveal that the junctions play a very important role in the breakdown of the samples, changing the breakdown potential by almost a factor of three. By placing a thin oxide layer at the anode face of a sample, an excellent photoconductive switch can be produced. The resistance of this switch was changed by three orders of magnitude through optical illumination.... Silicon, Semiconductor, Breakdown, Channel formation, Optical switching.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA259171
Entities
People
- Brian A. Hibbeln
Organizations
- Air Force Institute of Technology