Surface plasma-enhanced internal photoemission in gallium arsenide Schottky diodes

An aluminum on n-type gallium arsenide Schottky diode with a prism coupler on the front face was illuminated by a p-polarized Nd:YAG laser to excite the surface plasma resonance in the aluminum barrier contact. The internal photoemission current and reflectance were measured simultaneously as a function of the angle of incidence. The excitation of the surface plasma resonance was observed by a dip in the reflectance which occurred at the same angle as a peak in the photoemission current. These effects disappeared in the case of s-polarization. Enhancement in the photoemission current by as much as a factor of 3 was obtained.