Current transport in GaAs Schottky barrier diodes subject to high neutron fluence

Abstract
The electrical characteristics of GaAs Schottky barrier diodes are investigated after fast‐neutron irradiation at fluences causing appreciable (≳75%) carrier removal. A significant change is seen in the forward current‐voltage (IV) characteristics, with one‐carrier space‐charge‐limited (SCL) current in the presence of distributed traps becoming the dominant conduction mechanism. Depending on preirradiation doping level and neutron fluence, both power law and exponential forward IV characteristics are obtained, signifying exponential and uniform trap distributions respectively. The trap parameters are evaluated from analysis of IV data taken over a wide temperature range.