Comparison of n-type and p-type GaAs oxide growth and its effects on frequency dispersion characteristics

The electrical characteristics of n- and p-type gallium arsenide (GaAs) capacitors show a striking difference in the “accumulation” capacitance frequency dispersion. This difference has been attributed by some to a variation in the oxide growth, possibly due to photoelectrochemical properties of the two substrates. We show that the oxide growth on n- and p-type GaAs substrates is identical when exposed to identical environmental and chemical conditions while still maintaining the diverse electrical characteristics. The difference in electron and hole trap time constants is suggested as the source of the disparity of the frequency dispersion for n-type versus p-type GaAs devices.