Pulse Response Characteristics of Silicon Photovoltaic Converters Irradiated with Low-Energy Protons

The effect of irradiation with low-energy protons on the pulse characteristics of silicon photovoltaic structures is studied. Bipolar rectangular voltage pulses with constant amplitude of 10 mV and a frequency of 200 kHz and 1 MHz are used for measurements. It is shown that proton irradiation with an energy of 180 keV and a dose of 10 15 cm –2 forms a region with a high concentration of radiation defects in the space charge region of the n + – p junction. Such elements can be used to create fast-response photodiodes with an operating modulation frequency of 18 MHz.