THE INFLUENCE OF ELECTRODEPOSITED GOLD ON THE PROPERTIES OF III-V SEMICONDUCTOR ELECTRODES .3. RESULTS ON N-GAAS PROVIDED WITH THICK GOLD LAYERS

The influence of electrodeposited gold on the current-potential and im pedance characteristics of n-GaAs electrodes was studied in various el ectrolyte solutions. The potential of the gold layer on n-GaAs was mea sured as a function of the bias applied to the electrode. It is conclu ded that the same processes occur as previously proposed for gold-plat ed p-GaAs electrodes. A model involving gold-related surface states wh ich interact with both the valence band and the electrolyte solution w as used to explain the results for p-GaAs. For n-GaAs, an additional p rocess is found to play an important role recombination of thermally p roduced holes with conduction band electrons.