Characterizations of Mesa Structural Near-Infrared n-Type Nanocrystalline-FeSi2/p-Type Si Heterojunction Photodiodes at Low Temperatures

Abstract

In order to reduce the parasitic capacitance, mesa structural n-type NC-FeSi2/p-type Si heterojunctions were fabricated by photolithography. Their current-voltage characteristics were measured in the dark and under illumination using a 1.31 μm laser in the temperature range of 60 300 K. Their junction capacitance density was evidently reduced as compared with that of the normal structural diodes. The dark current was markedly reduced with a decrease in the temperature. At 60 K, a rectifying current ratio in the dark became more than five orders of magnitude at ±1V. The ratio of the photocurrent to the dark current was dramatically enhanced to be approximately two orders of magnitude, and the detectivity was calculated to be 1.5 × 1011 cmHz1/2/W at-1V. The obtained results showed a remarkable improvement in the device performance as compared with those at 300 K.