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Highly reliable silicon carbide photodiodes for visible-blind ultraviolet detector applications

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2012

Deepak Prasai ,
Wilfred John ,
Leonhard Weixelbaum ,
Olaf Krüger ,
Günter Wagner ,
Peter Sperfeld ,
Stefan Nowy ,
Dirk Friedrich ,
Stefan Winter  and
Tilman Weiss
Deepak Prasai
Affiliation:
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Wilfred John
Affiliation:
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Leonhard Weixelbaum
Affiliation:
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Olaf Krüger*
Affiliation:
Ferdinand-Braun-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für Höchstfrequenztechnik, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Günter Wagner
Affiliation:
Leibniz-Institut für Kristallzüchtung, 12489 Berlin, Germany
Peter Sperfeld
Affiliation:
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig und Berlin, 4.1 Photometry and Applied Radiometry, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Stefan Nowy
Affiliation:
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig und Berlin, 4.1 Photometry and Applied Radiometry, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Dirk Friedrich
Affiliation:
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig und Berlin, 4.1 Photometry and Applied Radiometry, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Stefan Winter
Affiliation:
Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig und Berlin, 4.1 Photometry and Applied Radiometry, 38116 Braunschweig, Germany
Tilman Weiss
Affiliation:
sglux GmbH, 12489 Berlin, Germany
*
a)Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: olaf.krueger@fbh-berlin.de
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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.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 28 , Issue 1: Focus Issue: Silicon Carbide – Materials, Processing and Devices , 14 January 2013 , pp. 33 - 37
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2012

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References

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