CHARACTERIZATION OF A GAAS METAL-SEMICONDUCTOR-METAL LOW-ENERGY-ELECTRON DETECTOR

In this article we present the preliminary results regarding the perfo rmance characterization of a metal-semiconductor-metal low-energy (les s than or equal to 1 keV) electron detector fabricated by electron-bea m lithography on metal-oxide chemical vapor deposition grown GaAs. The se devices display very law dark currents, less than or equal to 3 nA at: 1 V and 300 nA at 9 V. Also, under electron-beam irradiation very high gain values (>1000) have been noted, which could be evidence of a valanche multiplicative effects. In addition, the input/output respons e of the device shows a high degree of linearity even in the high gain regime. The signal-to-noise response of the devices is well within th e acceptable range of operation for low current sensitivity. (C) 1995 American Vacuum Society.