Photoconductors under transverse sweep-out conditions

In semiconductors with induced anisotropy of conductivity the influence of transverse carrier drift on the main photodetector parameters is investigated. The effect is connected to the change in bulk and surface contributions to the total recombination flow. The calculated and experimental dependences of sensitivity, response time, spectral sensitivity and noise on transverse drift rate, bulk lifetime and surface recombination velocities are obtained. It is shown that the transverse carrier sweep-out makes it possible to stabilize detector parameters at certain values. Experiments are performed on InSb and CdHgTe samples placed in crossed electric and magnetic fields.