Ultrasonically Recovered Performance of $\gamma $-Irradiated Metal-Silicon Structures

The MHz-frequency ultrasound treatment is shown to offer a recovery tool in the current-voltage (I-V ) characteristics of the γ-irradiated metal-silicon structures. Experimental observations of the ultrasound treatment effect on the carrier transport and photocurrent transient parameters are highlighted. It is shown that up to 30% of the Schottky diode currents and free carrier lifetimes worsen by the irradiation could be recovered in the stress field of ultrasound. The likely scenario behind the treatment effect is outlined, implying the involvement of the vacancies released from the E-centers and subsequently trapped at the Si- SiO
₂
interface. It is shown that the technique enables near-room temperature modification of electronic properties of metal-semiconductor Schottky diodes and metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. The density of the electrically active bulk and interface traps can be controllably tuned using this technique. Potential relevance of the processing approach in the context of applications in electronics and detector technologies is pointed out.