Investigation of characteristics of GaAs/AlGaAs p-i-n connecting tunnel diodes

Abstract

Abstract Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics of tunnel diode structures with GaAs-n++/i-GaAs/i-Al0,2Ga0,8As/Al0,2Ga0,8As-p++ active region and i-layer thicknesses of 7.5 nm and 10 nm and epitaxial growth temperature of 450 °C and 500 °C have been studied. The tunnel diode structures grown by the molecular beam epitaxy technique are intended for application as connecting elements in multijunction photovoltaic converters of high-power monochromatic optical radiation. According to the results obtained, the peak tunnel current density of up to 200 A/cm2 is achieved. Forward current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characteristics of tunnel p-i-n diode structures were measured at room temperature. The capacitance-voltage characteristics of the tunnel diodes being tested were obtained experimentally with the frequency dependence of S-parameters simulated within 10-1000 MHz at bias voltages of 0.4–1 V.