Edge Effect on the Determination of Capture Rate of Minority Carriers from Transient Capacitance Measurement

Abstract

The depletion edge region must be taken into account in the determination of the capture rate of minority carriers from a transient capacitance after the application of an injection pulse to a reverse-biased pn junction. A simple expression to evaluate the edge effect is proposed, with which the capture rate of minority carriers can be determined if the capture rate of majority carriers is known. Measurements are performed on an Au-doped Si p+n diode to determine the hole capture rate of the Au acceptor level.