Quenched-In Recombination Centers in Silicon

Measurements of lifetimes of minority carriers in $p$- and $n$-type silicon indicate that quenching from temperatures above 400°C introduces recombination centers. The energy of formation of these centers is about 0.6 ev. These centers anneal at temperatures in the neighborhood of the quenching temperatures with an activation energy for annealing of about 0.8 ev.