Electrical characterization of defects induced by electron beam exposure in low doped n-GaAs

We have used deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and Laplace DLTS (L-DLTS) to characterize the electrically active point defects introduced in n-type gallium arsenide by electron beam exposure prior to Schottky metallization. The GaAs crystals were exposed to incident electrons at sub-threshold energies which are deemed low and insufficient to form defects through ion solid interactions. DLTS revealed a set of electron traps different from those commonly observed in n-GaAs after particle irradiation. These different signatures from the same radiation type suggest that different mechanisms are responsible for defect formation in the two electron irradiation processes. An analysis of the conditions under which the defects were formed was done to distil a number of possible defect formation mechanisms using the experimental evidence obtained.