Diffusion length of non-equilibrium current carriers in nanowire radial p-n junctions: Effect of the curvature

Abstract

In core-shell nanowire radial p-n junction, spatial (along the radius) distribution of the injected carriers is determined not only by recombination falling of the non-equilibrium carrier concentration but also by specific falling due to cylindrical symmetry of the structure. This forces us to consider an effective diffusion length of non-equilibrium carriers in nanoscale radial structures. This effective diffusion length proves to be larger (up to 25%) than the diffusion length in usual planar p-n junction (made of the same material) under injection from the shell to the core and smaller than it (up to 60%) under injection from the core to the shell.