Dependence of static and dynamic characteristics of high-voltage pulsed p-i-n diodes on the composition of heteroepitaxial AlxGa1−xAs1−ySby base layers

Forward current-voltage characteristics and reverse recovery of high-voltage p-i-n diodes based on Al_xGa_1-xAs_1-ySb_y layers with x ranging from 0 to 0.6 and y ranging from 0 to 0.2, manufactured by liquid-phase epitaxy due to self-doping with background impurities, have been studied. The forward current-voltage characteristics, described as a sum of the recombination current in the space charge region and the diffusion current in the base, have been observed at low current densities for p⁰-i-n⁰ junctions of GaAs, Al_xGa_1-xAs and Al_xGa_1-xAs_1-ySb_y with x up to 0.6 and y up to 0.04. The effective lifetime of nonequilibrium charge carriers decreases from ~ 170 ns in GaAs layers to 30−60 ns in the layers of Al_xGa_1-xAs with x ranging from 0.2 to 0.45 and to 4−12 ns in Al_xGa_1-xAs_1-ySb_y layers.