Analysis of temperature dependence of dark current mechanisms for long-wavelength HgCdTe photovoltaic infrared detectors

Resistance-voltage curves of n-on-p Hg1-CdxTe long-wavelength infrared photodiodes forming 128-element array are measured in the temperature range of 40-150 K. Experimentally obtained characteristics are fitted by the simultaneous-mode nonlinear fitting program. The dark current mechanisms induced by diffusion, generation recombination, trap-assisted tunneling, band-to-band tunneling, and series resistance effect are included in the physical model for R-V curve fitting. Six characteristic parameters as function of temperature are extracted from measured R-V curves. The characteristics of extracted current components at low temperatures indicate significant contributions from tunneling effects, which is the dominant leakage current mechanism for reverse bias greater than approximately 50 mV. The Hg-vacancy-induced acceptor trap tends to invert to donor type at higher temperature, typically larger than 120 K, while it can maintain stable at the temperature of 60-40 K. The stable temperature of ion-implantation-induced traps is about 90-60 K, which possibly tends to be ionized at high temperature. However, a low operation temperature can induce the frozen effects of the ion-implantation-induced donor traps. Fitting certainty analysis shows that the error of one parameter can be magnified when one of the other types of dark current mechanisms dominates the dark current and is even infinitely enlarged under large reverse bias. The different bias regions at which each fitting parameter has the largest influence to the R-V curve should be ascertained. The results of the present work demonstrate that modeling of the dynamic resistance in small voltage range or at just operation temperature are insufficient for determining the mechanism of carrier transport across the Hg1-CdxTe junction and a detailed theoretical study of the current-voltage characteristics in wider voltage range or at various temperatures should be carried out.