METHOD FOR CALCULATING THE NUMBER OF DARK ELECTRONS IN SOLID-STATE PHOTODETECTORS

The physical processes determining the formation of dark electrons in solid-state photodetectors are considered. A technique is presented that allows one to determine the number of dark electrons in solid-state photodetectors. Temperature regimes and ranges are determined at which dark electrons are formed, both due to impurity ionization and due to thermal generation. Quantitative estimates of the number of dark electrons, the value of the accumulated charge and the dark current from such parameters as temperature, the width of the forbidden band of the material and the duration of the accumulation time interval are given. It is shown that a decrease in the level of dark electrons and the corresponding current to minimum values at a fixed accumulation time is achieved by optimizing the type of photodetector and operating temperatures.