Stability of the GaAs based Hall sensors irradiated by gamma quanta

Abstract

The present work is aimed at investigation of the stability of the GaAsbased Hall sensors (pickups) to irradiation by gamma quanta. The examined objects are the gallium arsenide based Hall sensors manufactured on thin active layers by the methods of vaporphase epitaxy (VPE), molecular beam epitaxy, and ion implantation. Our research methodology involves measurements of the volt-ampere characteristics (VACs) of all sensors for different values of the supply voltage polarity and electron concentration and mobility by the Van-der- Pau method as well as investigations of the noise properties of the sensors before and after irradiation. The sensors are irradiated by gamma quanta of Co{60} at room temperature in the passive mode, that is, without imposition of an electrical bias. As a result of investigations, it is established that a part of the active layer of finite thickness adjoining the substrate plays an important role in the charge carrier transmission process depending on the concentration of deep-level centers in the substrate. Irradiation by high doses leads to degradation of VACs and increase in the spectral density of the sensor noise. Low gamma radiation doses have a stabilization effect on the sensors. Periodic relaxation processes are observed for a part of the structures manufactured by the VPE method. The assumption is made that they can be caused by the deep-level centersin GaAs.