Characterization of plasma contacts to cadmium telluride photodetector in ultrathin gas discharge cell

In the present work, the physical properties at the contact of single crystal cadmium telluride semiconductor with gas discharge plasma have been investigated. It is shown that charge carriers in the plasma, together with incident infrared radiation, contribute to the enhancement of the photocurrent in the gas discharge cell. At sufficiently high voltages (more than 2.5 kV) in the gas discharge cell, positive feedback associated with the effect of the plasma on the semiconductor surface is observed. The results of theoretical calculations and experimental experience are in satisfactory agreement, from which the physical meaning of the proportionality coefficient is determined, taking into account the plasma effect on the photoconductivity of the photodetector. The use of a double plasma contact contributes to the damping of the spatial instabilities of the photocurrents in the gas discharge cell, allowing the use of low-resistance photodetectors at the input of the device. Similar results at room temperature have been obtained for the first time on the basis of single-crystal cadmium telluride.