Metastable defects in alpha-particle irradiated n-GaAs

Abstract

The controlled introduction of defects in semiconductors by means of different types of irradiation, is a well-established technique in the study of semiconductor structures. It has application in the study of defects introduced in semiconductors in a radiation environment. One of the types of radiation readily encountered in a radiation environment, is alpha(a)-particle radiation, thus the influence of these particles on the electronic properties of semiconductors, and thus also GaAs, needs to be investigated. In this dissertation, the characteristics of a specific defect, termed Ea3, are researched and presented and we argue that it exhibits a metastable character. Along with Ea3, another less prominent defect, termed Ea8, was also found to be metastable. The presence of a metastable defect in a particular radiation environment has important consequences for the technological properties of the semiconductor host and thus for the design of devices on GaAs exposed to alpha particles.