TEMPERATURE CHARACTERIZATION OF GaAs/AlGaAs CONNECTING TUNNEL DIODES

The current-voltage characteristics of two types of GaAs-(delta Si)/i-(GaAs/Al0.2Ga 0.8As)/p++-Al0.2Ga0.8As-(delta Be) tunnel diode (TD) structures grown at different temperatures and epitaxial layer thicknesses have been investigated in the temperature range 100-400 K. Temperature dependences of the main TD parameters were determined: the peak value of the tunnel current density (Jp), the valley current density (Jv) and the differential resistance (Rd). TD samples of structure A grown at 500 degrees C exhibited the highest values of the peak current density (Jp <= 220 A/cm2) with temperature stability of 93 % over the whole temperature range. TD samples of structure B grown at 450 degrees C showed lower values of the peak tunneling current density (Jp <= 150 A/cm2), with significantly linear temperature dependence. Our findings can be used in the design and development of monolithic multijunction photoconverters of powerful laser radiation.