Radiation tolerance of Si/Si0.6Ge0.4 resonant interband tunneling diodes.

The effect of 2 MeV proton irradiation on the current–voltage (IV) characteristics of Si/Si0.6Ge0.4 resonant interband tunneling diodes (RITDs) is reported. A fluence of 5×1014 H+/cm2 causes the peak current to increase by about 4% the valley current to nearly double and the peak-to-valley current ratio to be reduced by about half. At comparable fluences, most minority carrier diodes are inoperational. Radiation-induced changes are compared to changes in the IV curves of irradiated Si- and Ge Esaki diodes, GaSb-based RITDs and InP-based resonant tunneling diodes. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]