Effective Recombination Lifetime Research Articles

Effects of dopant type and concentration on surface recombination velocity in hydrogen-terminated silicon

Isolating the effects of the type and concentration of the dopant in lightly doped regions in the reaction between hydrogen-terminated silicon surface and atmospheric impurities in air is very difficult. However, changes in the surface recombination sites can be analyzed accurately through recombination lifetime measurements performed using the microwave photoconductive decay method. Thus, we investigated variations in the effective recombination lifetime in hydrogen-terminated silicon surfaces over time in air for different dopant types and concentrations. For both p-type and n-type silicon wafers, surface recombination velocity, S, increased with decreasing resistivity, namely, increasing dopant concentration. The time-dependent variations of the S for the p-type wafers decreased, and those for the n-type wafers increased with decreasing resistivity. Thus, it was shown that the time-dependent variation of the S depends on the type and concentration of the dopant used.

Carrier lifetimes in thin-film photovoltaics

The carrier lifetimes in thin-film solar cells are reviewed and discussed. Shockley-Read-Hall recombination is dominant at low carrier density, Auger recombination is dominant under a high injection condition and high carrier density, and surface recombination is dominant under any conditions. Because the surface photovoltage technique is insensitive to the surface condition, it is useful for bulk lifetime measurements. The photoconductance decay technique measures the effective recombination lifetime. The time-resolved photoluminescence technique is very useful for measuring thin-film semiconductor or solar-cell materials lifetime, because the sample is thin, other techniques are not suitable for measuring the lifetime. Many papers have provided time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) lifetimes for copper-indium-gallium-selenide (CIGS) and CdTe thin-film solar cell. The TRPL lifetime strongly depends on open-circuit voltage and conversion efficiency; however, the TRPL life time is insensitive to the short-circuit current.

Spectral and Injection Level Dependence of Recombination Lifetimes in Silicon Measured by Impedance Spectroscopy

The effect of photo-generated carrier concentration on recombination lifetime is studied on silicon wafers using the impedance spectroscopy technique. The induced p <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$^+$</tex></formula> -p-n structures are created by depositing semitransparent layers of high (Pd) and low (Al) work function (w.r.t silicon) metal layers on crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers. The measurements are carried out by illuminating the device from the p <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$^+$</tex></formula> -p side. The impedance data are analyzed by assuming a network consisting of a number of RC circuits, which, in turn, give recombination times (τ) controlled by defects in bulk and at the interfaces of the device. The maximum value of the effective recombination lifetime (τ) is found to be 12.3 ± 0.4 μs at an intensity of ∼100 mW/cm <formula formulatype="inline" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex Notation="TeX">$^2$</tex></formula> , which matches closely with the maximum value 11.4 ± 1.0 μs obtained under forward bias (+ 0.4 V) conditions in the same sample in the dark. These values match well with the effective minority carrier lifetime obtained using the microwave photoconductive decay technique on the same silicon wafer prior to device fabrication.

Evidence for barrier-to-well injection of carriers in high quality ZnO/Zn0.9Mg0.1O multiple quantum wells grown on (111) Si

High quality ZnO/Zn0.9Mg0.1O multiple quantum wells were grown on (111) Si employing epitaxial Lu2O3 buffer layer and a thin ZnO nucleation layer. The linewidth of the low temperature ZnO well emission is only 17 meV. The effective recombination lifetime of emission from ZnO wells is 183 ps. Temperature-dependent photoluminescence is investigated to reveal the behavior of the carriers in the multiple quantum wells. Evidence for the barrier-to-well injection is indicated from the thermal quenching of both the barrier and well emissions. Carrier localization and thermal delocalization are observed in ZnMgO cap/barriers. The depth of the local potential well is determined to be ∼7 meV.

Generation and recombination lifetime measurement in silicon wafers using impedance spectroscopy

Minority carrier lifetime in silicon wafers has been measured by applying an impedance spectroscopy technique (IST). Induced p+–p and p–n junctions were formed on both sides of the silicon wafer by thermally evaporating semitransparent metal layers of palladium and aluminium respectively. As such, no thermal treatment was given to the device, and therefore there is no diffusion of impurities inside the semiconductor and the two junctions are induced in the form of accumulation and depletion regions of charge carriers respectively. Both generation and recombination lifetimes applicable under the reverse and forward bias conditions respectively have been measured. The generation lifetime was estimated to be around 73 µs, whereas the recombination lifetime has been found to be about 11 µs. It is shown that the effective recombination lifetime is determined mainly by surface recombination velocity at the silicon–palladium interface. The effective minority carrier lifetime as measured by the microwave-detected photoconductive decay method on the same sample is 12 µs which is close to the measured recombination value by the IST. This shows that impedance spectroscopy can be used to measure effective lifetime of the wafer using an induced junction structure prior to the formation of an actual device like the solar cell. Moreover, the series resistance (Rs), diode ideality factor (n) and barrier height (Vbi) obtained from C–V (using the IST) data as well as the I–V measurement of the device show agreement with the expected device parameters. Thus, the IST can be effectively employed as a tool in extracting many relevant characteristic parameters of the material and the device.

High sensitivity photoconductivity based measurement setup for the determination of effective recombination lifetime in silicon wafers

We describe a high sensitivity measurement setup for the determination of recombination parameters in semiconductors at low levels of carrier injection. The setup is based on a lock-in amplifier and on a commercially available contactless conductivity detector. The information on recombination is extracted through the analysis, assuming quasi-steady-state conditions, of the low frequency, sinusoidally modulated photoconductivity signal induced by the illumination of a 950 nm light emitting diode array. Experimental results show a substantial increase in sensitivity with respect to traditional transient or quasi-steady-state techniques based on the same detection principle. The sensitivity bonus can be exploited for the extension of the carrier injection range for which effective recombination lifetime is measurable, both in the case of p-type and n-type wafers.

Crystalline Silicon Surface Passivation by Pecv-Deposited Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Oxide Films [a-SiOx:H

AbstractIn the research field of crystalline silicon (c-Si) solar cells, electronic surface passivation has been recognized as a crucial step to achieve high conversion efficiencies. The main issue of this article is to analyze the surface passivation properties of both, n-type and p-type crystalline silicon wafers by hydrogenated amorphous silicon sub oxide [a-SiOx:H] films the for use in hetero-junction (a-Si/c-Si) solar cells. A window layer is obtained with a certain fraction of oxygen in the a-SiOx:H layers.The a-SiOx:H films were deposited by decomposition of silane, carbon dioxide and hydrogen as source gases using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Films with varying deposition parameters such as gas flow ratio (oxygen fraction) and plasma frequency (13.56, 70.0 and 110.0 MHz) are compared.To determine the passivation quality of the a-SiOx:H films, microwave-detected photo conductance decay (µ-PCD) provides a contactless measurement of the effective recombination lifetime of free carriers. The film compositions and also the changes in the microscopic structure of the amorphous network upon thermal annealing are studied using Raman spectroscopy and optical profiling techniques.The Raman spectra reveal the generation of Si-(OH)x and Si-O-Si bonds after thermal annealing in the layers, leading to a higher effective lifetime, as it reduces the defect absorption of the sub oxides.For n-type FZ material, lifetime values as high as 1650 µs are obtained, resulting in a surface recombination velocity Seff &lt; 9.5 cm/s.

Study of improved reverse recovery in power transistor incorporating universal contact

The improvement in reverse recovery of power NPN bipolar transistor (BJT) through incorporation of “universal contact” in the base is studied in detail. It is shown that use of universal contact allows redistribution of base current in saturation from collector region where recombination lifetime is high to extrinsic base region where effective recombination lifetime is low. The reverse recovery time decreases as collector current density increases but increases as collector breakdown voltage increases. The improvement in reverse recovery is accompanied with an increase in collector–emitter voltage in the ON state. For low voltage transistors and high voltage transistors at low collector current densities, the increase is primarily due to reduction in reverse current gain. For high breakdown voltage transistors, the use of universal contact results in early onset of quasi-saturation effect and results in degradation in ON state voltage at high collector current densities.

A study into the applicability of p +n + (universal contact) to power semiconductor diodes for faster reverse recovery

The use of p +n + universal contact for improving switching performance in diodes is studied in detail. A theoretical framework is described which shows that the incorporation of universal contact either at the end of the lightly doped region or in the injecting p or n regions of the diode can all be viewed as an attempt to reduce the effective minority carrier lifetime in the diode by redistributing minority carrier current from the lightly doped region of the diode where recombination lifetime is high to other regions of the diode where the presence of universal contact results in smaller recombination lifetime. It is shown that the incorporation of universal contact allows a new tradeoff between the effective recombination lifetime and the reverse blocking voltage determined by the proximity of universal contact to the lightly doped region of the diode. The impact of insertion of universal contact on reverse recovery is discussed as a function of current density and reverse blocking voltage.

Optical properties of a high-quality insulating GaN epilayer

Picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy has been used to investigate the optical properties of an insulating GaN epilayer grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on a sapphire substrate. Two emission lines at 3.503 and 3.512 eV in the continuous wave (cw) PL spectra observed at 10 K under a low excitation intensity (∼23 W/cm2) were identified as the band-to-band transitions involving the A and B valence bands, respectively. A third emission line at 3.491 eV was identified as a band-to-impurity transition involving a shallow donor. The PL decay behavior can be well understood with a model taking into account both the free carriers and impurities. The effective recombination lifetime of the band-to-band transition in GaN was found to be about 3.7 ns. Possible mechanisms for the band-to-band transition being dominant in this high quality insulating GaN epilayer have also been discussed.

Optical measurement of effective recombination lifetime in silicon epitaxial layers

In this letter we present a novel all-optical pump-probe technique for the measurement of effective recombination lifetime in silicon epitaxial layers. The procedure is based on the measurement of the variation of the attenuation coefficient due to optically injected free carriers of a planar dielectric waveguide defined by the epitaxial layer cladded between the substrate and the air. Perturbation theory is used to take into account nonuniform refractive index distribution due to nonzero surface recombination. The measurement technique is validated by both numerical simulation and experimental results.

Interface traps creation by sub-band gap irradiation in silicon dioxide on silicon without applied electric field

The effective recombination lifetime of thermally oxidized silicon wafers is found to vary little following 4.2 eV ultraviolet irradiation but decrease dramatically when the photon energy is elevated up to 4.9 eV, indicating generation of the interface traps. This finding is discussed with the model of the hot-electrons induced hydrogen redistribution in which about 2 eV energy is necessary for the electrons in the oxide conduction band to liberate a trapped hydrogen atom and generate in turn interface traps. It is stressed, however, that if the model is true the release of hydrogen atoms trapped inside the oxide should be, at least partly, responsible for the generation of interface traps because the samples used in this article are gate-free.

Defect passivation in multicrystalline-Si materials by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition of SiO2/SiN coatings

It is shown for the first time that plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) passivation which involves low temperature PECVD of ∼100 Å SiO2 and ∼600 Å SiN followed by photoassisted anneal is very effective for both surface and bulk defect passivation in multicrystalline-Si materials. It is found that the effective recombination lifetime increased by a factor of 2–10 depending upon the multicrystalline material. Some solar cells were fabricated using a three-layer PECVD coating (100 Å SiO2/600 Å SiN/950 Å SiO2), the bottom two for passivation and the top two for antireflection coating. The bulk and surface passivation effects were quantified and decoupled by a combination of internal quantum efficiency measurements and computer modeling. It was found that the PECVD passivated solar cells increased bulk lifetime from 10 to 20 μs, and decreased the surface recombination velocity from 2×105 to 5×104 cm/s.

Effects of Impurity Redistribution on the Short‐Circuit Current of n+‐p Silicon Solar Cells

The effect of impurity redistribution on the n+‐diffused layer of silicon solar cells has been studied. The impurity concentration was profiled by four‐point‐probe differential Hall and resistivity measurements. The electric field gradient and the mobility gradient in the diffused region were obtained from the impurity profiles. Short‐circuit current was calculated from the effective recombination lifetime deduced from electric field gradient and mobility gradient results. The calculated short‐circuit current was compared with measured values as a function of wavelengths and found to be in reasonably good agreement.