Characterization studies of deep levels in silicon doped copper diffused GaAs and their significance for bulk GaAs switches

Deep-level characterization studies have been carried out for silicon-doped copper-compensated gallium arsenide (GaAs:Si:Cu) which is used to fabricate bulk optically controlled semiconductor switches. A photoinduced current transient spectroscopy technique has been used to identify various deep levels present in GaAs:Si:Cu, and from the findings probable models for the copper-related complexes in GaAs are proposed. The effect of diffusion parameters on the formation of different copper deep levels has been studied. The influence of copper deep levels (Cu/sub A/ and Cu/sub B/) on switch performance is discussed.<>