Tunneling effect in CdxHg1-xTe photodiodes

The current-voltage I-U characteristics and those of log I-U, dU/dI-U, and d
²
U/dI
²
-U of Cd
x
Hg
1-x
Te (x = 0.20-0.27) photodiodes were measured in the temperature range of 4.2-77 K. The data analysis indicates the backward-type behavior and both the elastic and inelastic resonant-tunneling effects. The resonant tunneling itself seems to originate from resonance-energy states (defect states) located within the junction area.