Analysis of Electron Trapping in Alumina Using Thermally Stimulated Electrical Currents

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Abstract
Electron trapping in alumina was investigated using the methods of thermal stimulation of occupied trapping levels. A constant recombination lifetime energy band model was used to develop a general analysis employing the concept of an ``effective'' thermal emission probability. This analysis was used to relate experimental results to theoretical expressions for arbitrary retrapping rates. Results for polycrystalline alumina revealed several discrete traps in the trapping spectra with trap densities on the order of 1018 cm−3 and capture cross sections varying from 10−21 to 10−15 cm2 for the different trap levels observed. An extension of this analysis yielded an estimate of 0.2 (cm2/V sec) for the carrier mobility at 600°K.