Studies on the recombination of electrons and holes in germanium

Abstract

The life time of nonequilibrium charge carriers in n- and p-type germanium was measured as a function of the equilibrium carrier concentrations. Tne concentration range from the intrinsic region up to ≈10 18 cm −3 was covered. Both electron and hole capture coefficients were found to be independent of concentration up to the concentrations of at least ≈10 17 cm −3. The temperature dependence of the hole life times in copper-doped n-type germanium was investigated. The experimental data were compared with the statistics of recombination on many-level centres and a good agreement was shown to be obtainable. From the data obtained some conclusions on the nature of elementary capture processes in germanium were drawn.