Carrier Transport and Potential Distributions for a Semiconductorp−nJunction in the Relaxation Regime

Experimental current-voltage characteristics and potential distributions are presented for a $p-n$ junction in high-resistivity GaAs, whose dielectric relaxation time ${\tau }_D$ exceeds carrier lifetime ${\tau }_0$. The condition ${\tau }_D>{\tau }_0$ defines the new "relaxation regime" for which theory predicts behavior entirely different from that of the familiar ideal rectifier of conventional semiconductor physics with ${\tau }_D\ll {\tau }_0$. The predicted field distributions and the linear and sublinear current-voltage relationships are observed. These results confirm the theory in detail.