Transient Photocurrent in Amorphous Silicon Radiation Detectors

Transient Photocurrent in Amorphous Silicon Radiation Detectors

The transient photocurrent in amorphous silicon radiation detectors (n-i-n and forward biased p-i-n) were analyzed. The transient photocurrents in these devices could be modeled using multiple trap levels in the forbidden gap. Using this model the rise and decay shapes of the photocurrents could be fitted. The decaying photocurrent shapes of the p-i-n and n-i-n devices after a short duration of light pulse showed a similar behavior at low dark current density levels, but at higher dark current density levels the photocurrent of the p-i-n diode decayed faster than that of the n-i-n, which could be explained by the decreased electron lifetimes in the forward biased p-i-n diode at high dark current densities. The transient photoconductive gain behaviors in the amorphous silicon radiation detectors are discussed in terms of device configuration, dark current density and time scale.