Switching Properties Of Electron-beam Controlled GaAs Pin-diodes

The electron-beam induced conductance and the recovery behavior of bulk GaAs switches (with ohmic contacts) was compared with pin diodes made of an identical semiconductor material and with the same dimensions. The conductance of pin diodes can be tailored to exceed that of bulk switches by more than an order of magnitude due to the enhanced cathodoluminescence in the heavily doped p-layer of the diode. The "lock-on" effect which was observed in the bulk switch and in the forward biased p-i-n switch at field strengths exceeding 9.2 kV/cm, was suppressed in the reverse biased pin diode. This result indicates that double injection of carriers through the contacts is at least in part responsible for the "lock-on" effect.