Measurement of the electron–hole pair creation energy in Al0.52In0.48P using X-ray radiation

The average energy consumed in the generation of an electron–hole pair (eAlInP) in Al0.52In0.48P was experimentally measured across the temperature range -20 °C to 100 °C, using a custom AlInP X-ray-photodiode, an 55Fe radioisotope X-ray source, and custom low-noise charge-sensitive preamplifier electronics. eAlInP was found to linearly decrease with increasing temperature according to the equation eAlInP = (-0.0033 eV/K ± 0.0003 eV/K)T + (6.31 eV ± 0.10 eV). At room temperature (20 °C), eAlInP = 5.34 eV ± 0.07 eV.