OXIDE-BIAS MEASUREMENTS IN THE SILICON PHOTODIODE SELF-CALIBRATION TECHNIQUE

Oxide-bias measurement techniques to determine front-surface recombination losses in the silicon photodiode self-calibration technique have been investigated. With the water-drop method it has been shown necessary to restrict the applied bias voltage to the very minimum necessary to produce photocurrent saturation, otherwise, non-reversible degradation of quantum efficiency may occur. The corona technique has been found to give satisfactory results only on initial application, as a drastic increase in front-region recombination loss is produced.