Neutron transmutation doping in semiconductors: science and applications

Different aspects of neutron transmutation doping (NTD) of silicon and germanium are considered, with a special emphasis on the contribution by scientists of the Ioffe Physicotechnical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, to the solution of these problems. Fundamental studies related to determination of the cross sections of thermal-neutron capture by isotopes of semiconducting materials, annealing of radiation defects produced by fast reactor neutrons, and the use of NTD for probing the structure of the Ge impurity band are reviewed. Problems involved in industrial-scale production of NTD-Si, application of NTD-Si and NTD-Ge to fabrication of power thyristors, nuclear-particle and IR detectors, deep-cooled thermistors, and bolometers are discussed. The paper concludes with a consideration of prospects in the application of NTD-Si and NTD-Ge based on the use of materials with a controlled isotopic composition. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S1063-7834(99)01005-9].