Photocurrent amplification in Schottky diodes

It is shown that the photocurrent amplification in Schottky diodes (SD) with low barriers is due to the avalanche of minority carriers in the depletion layer (DL) of a semiconductor. The simple physical model of carrier generation in the DL of the diode is proposed for the experimental results interpretation. The theoretical estimates of the current amplification coefficient are in a good agreement with experimental data.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.