Photoemission from Au and Cu into CdS

Abstract

Many metal-semiconductor surface barrier rectifiers show photosensitivity for photon energies (hv) less than the semiconductor energy gap (E_g). Cases in the literature include metals evaporated or electrodeposited on elemental and III-V compound semiconductor surfaces. In these studies the source of the low-energy photocurrent, when hv < E_g, was shown to be the photoemission of carriers over the Schottky barrier between the metal film and the semiconductor. An extensive investigation has been reported for a series of metals, particularly Cu and Au, electroplated on n-type CdS with the conclusion that here also photoemission from the metal is responsible for most of the low-energy photovoltage. However, recent studies have questioned this conclusion for the CdS case. One study proposed that the origin of the low-energy photovoltaic response is electron photoexcitation from Cu impurities located in the CdS and within a diffusion length of the space charge region. Hole conduction probably in the 3d Cu levels was postulated for these samples, which had ≈ 30-ppm Cu. A second study interpreted the results as a p·n junction photovoltaic effect.