Electrical properties of silicon diodes with p+n junctions irradiated with 197Au+26 swift heavy ions

Electrical properties of silicon diodes with p+n junctions irradiated with 197Au+26 swift heavy ions (energy E = 350 MeV, fluences of 107 cm−2 and 108 cm−2) and silicon diodes irradiated with electrons (energy E = 3.5 MeV, fluences of 1015 cm−2, 5 × 1015 cm−2 and 1016 cm−2) have been investigated. Frequency dependences of the impedance, current–voltage characteristics and switching characteristics of these devices have been studied. Irradiation of the diodes with 197Au+26 ions at a fluence of 108 cm−2 leads to the formation of a quasi-continuous layer of irradiation-induced defects that enable a combination of characteristics such as a reverse resistance recovery time and direct voltage drop that are better than those for electron-irradiated diodes. Still, the irradiation of high-energy ions results in an increase in recombination currents that are larger than those obtained with electron irradiation, and causes more complicated frequency dispersion of the diode parameters.