Semi-insulating LEC GaAs as a material for radiation detectors: materials science issues

Semi-insulating (SI) GaAs is now being reconsidered as a promising material for radiation detectors, mostly due to greatly improved quality of the material. In this paper we shall describe the properties of the state-of-the-art SI GaAs crystals grown by LEC method as relevant for such applications. Specifically, we shall concentrate on the assessment of the spectra and density of residual impurities, on the measurements of deep levels spectra and on studying the impact of these centers on material parameters. The spectra of deep centers as studied by PICTS and DLTS indicate that, in LEC crystals grown from stoichiometric melts, besides the most prominent EL2 center, other electron and hole traps are usually observed. By comparing the DLTS and PICTS results we show that PICTS often tends to overestimate the relative contributions of traps shallower than EL2. Two approaches to decreasing EL2 concentration in LEC grown crystals have been proposed in literature: to grow crystals from Ga-rich melts and to anneal the material at high temperatures. We have studied the changes in deep level spectra and transport parameters for both cases. In annealing experiments the possibility of thick samples modification by arsenic diffusion was also investigated.