Space-charge region-dominated steady-state photoconductance in low-lifetime Si wafers
- 3 February 2003
- journal article
- research article
- Published by AIP Publishing in Applied Physics Letters
- Vol. 82 (5) , 757-759
- https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1541115
Abstract
We investigate the steady-state photoconductance of an oxidized low-lifetime monocrystalline Si wafer with an inversion layer at its surfaces. Photogenerated electrons and holes reduce the band bending and decrease the width of the carrier depleted space-charge region. Mobile charge carriers are stored on both sides of the space-charge region and dominate the photoconductivity at a low illumination intensity. This charge storage effect disappears under accumulation. We present an analytic model for the experimental observations. It is necessary to account for the charge storage effect when deducing low (<10 μs) minority carrier lifetimes on surface-inverted solar Si wafers from one-sun steady-state photoconductance measurements.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- Influence of a space charge region on charge carrier kinetics in silicon wafersJournal of Applied Physics, 2002
- Charge Storage Effect in the Microwave Detected Photoconductive Decay Method*Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, 2002
- Trapping of minority carriers in multicrystalline siliconApplied Physics Letters, 1999
- Contactless determination of current–voltage characteristics and minority-carrier lifetimes in semiconductors from quasi-steady-state photoconductance dataApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Investigation of charge carrier injection in silicon nitride/silicon junctionsApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Record low surface recombination velocities on 1 Ω cm p-silicon using remote plasma silicon nitride passivationApplied Physics Letters, 1996
- Recombination rate saturation mechanisms at oxidized surfaces of high-efficiency silicon solar cellsJournal of Applied Physics, 1995
- Determination of Si-SiO/sub 2/ interface recombination parameters using a gate-controlled point-junction diode under illuminationIEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, 1988
- Carrier mobilities in silicon semi-empirically related to temperature, doping and injection levelSolid-State Electronics, 1981