Modeling Current Voltage Characteristics of MWIR HgCdTe Diodes at High Reverse Bias Voltage

In this paper we model the current voltage (I–V) characteristics of Hg1 − xCdxTe (x = 0.3) diodes at high reverse bias voltage. The breakdown characteristics are indicative of n+/n−/p kind of doping profile. Various current limiting mechanisms affecting the soft breakdown characteristics of Hg1 − xCdxTe diodes have been identified. We also found that the existing models do not accurately fit the I–V curves above a certain reverse bias voltage, which led us to investigate possible additional dark current mechanisms responsible for this kind of behavior. Thus, a new current limiting model is also proposed in this paper.