Extension of a theorem used in the investigation of p-n junctions with the scanning electron microscope to arbitrary geometries and arbitrarily inhomogeneous material

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Abstract
It is shown that the relationship limn→S ∂Isc/ ∂n= (s/D) Isc connecting the normal derivative of the short circuit Isc generated by an electron or ion beam in a P‐N junction with the surface recombination velocity s and the diffusion constant D is valid for arbitrary junction geometries, arbitrary doping profiles, and arbitrary distributions of recombination centers, provided that (1) low‐level injection prevails and (2) the radius of the beam‐semiconductor interaction volume is small compared to the local diffusion length. It thus becomes possible to study the surface recombination velocity of the front surface of a highly nonuniformly doped shallow junction representative of, for instance, a solar cell by means of an ion beam.