Investigation of reverse branch of voltage-current curve of GaAs high-voltage p-n structure

The temperature behavior of the reverse branches of the voltage-current curves of p-n junctions based on lightly doped gallium arsenide, capable of operating with reverse voltages of up to 1.5 kV and at temperatures of up to 250C, was investigated. The volumetric component of the reverse current was measured by a guard ring at temperatures ranging from 20 to 250C and voltages of 2 to 1500 V. The measured volumetric component of the reverse current disagreed with that predicted by the Shockley-Noyce-Sah theory, which assumes that the rate at which electron-hole pairs is generated is independent of the electrical field intensity. It is shown that this assumption does not always hold when the rate of emission of charge carriers depends strongly upon the field. It is conducted that the anomalies observed in the field and temperature behavior of the reverse current of p-n junctions in lightly doped gallium arsenide can be explained by the field dependence of the rate of emission of electrons from deep levels.