Narrow-base silicon P-I-N photodiodes were exposed to a variety of conditions (total dose, temperature, time) at the RPI Gaerttner LINAC facility. The devices were analyzed, with respect to their current-voltage characteristics, in terms of forward voltage, ideality factor, and leakage current at 300 K and 80 K. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) measurements were performed and the energy levels of radiation induced defect states were obtained. Annealing of the forward and reverse characteristic was used to determine the activation energy of the defect migration. Engineering data on the MRD510 photo diode is presented and linear dose relationships are established for forward and reverse characteristics. Additionally, the on-set of avalanche breakdown is observed at 80 K.

Defects of the form Si-A, Si-E, and Divacancy centers were observed in DLTS spectra, and a defect level characteristic of the complex divacancy V₂O was also observed. It is speculated that along with bulk electron and surface state trapping, the V₂O defect state may play a significant role in damage production and subsequent annealing. It is proposed that the complex defect produced by displacement damage from 17 MeV electron irradiation anneals to form Si-A centers and Divacancies. The result is not the same as that found with wide-base P-I-N structures, where typically the Si-A, SiP, or Divancancy centers are the dominant defects annealing. For total dose electron irradiation below about 50 MeV in silicon, complex formations were not expected. The analysis determined that the MRD510 was fabricated from pulled silicon, due to the appearance of the Si-A center. It was shown that changes in ideality factor and leakage current can be used to determine activation energy for defect annealing.