Photosensitivity of the Ni-n-GaAs Schottky barriers

The method of chemical deposition is used to form the structures with the Ni-n-GaAs Schottky barrier. The thickness of the Ni layers with a specular outer surface was varied within the range of 150-220 A.... It was experimentally observed for the first time that photosensitivity of the obtained barriers with the semitransparent Ni layers illuminated is practically absent in the Fowler region of the spectrum at hv = 0.9-1.5 eV. This circumstance is related mainly to the fact that, in this case, the Ni layer side of the structure was illuminated, and radiation with the photon energy hv < 1.3 eV was effectively reflected from the nickel surface. It is established that the developed Ni-n-GaAs structures can be used as high-efficiency wide-band photoconverters of both visible and ultraviolet radiation.