Deep level

There are many ways of increasing tlie equilibrium carrier population of a semiconductor. Most often tliis is done by generating electron-hole pairs as, for instance, in tlie process of absorjition of a photon witli h E. Under reasonable levels of illumination and doping, tlie generation of electron-hole pairs affects primarily the minority carrier density. However, tlie excess population of minority carriers is not stable it gradually disappears tlirough a variety of recombination processes in which an electron in tlie CB fills a hole in a VB. The excess energy E is released as a photon or phonons. The foniier case corresponds to a radiative recombination process, tlie latter to a non-radiative one. The radiative processes only rarely involve direct recombination across tlie gap. Usually, tliis type of process is assisted by shallow defects (impurities). Non-radiative recombination involves a defect-related deep level at which a carrier is trapped first, and a second transition is needed to complete tlie process. 

Radiative recombination of minority carriers is tlie most likely process in direct gap semiconductors. Since tlie carriers at tlie CB minimum and tlie VB maximum have tlie same momentum, very fast recombination can occur. The radiative recombination lifetimes in direct semiconductors are tlius very short, of tlie order of tlie ns. The presence of deep-level defects opens up a non-radiative recombination patli and furtlier shortens tlie carrier lifetime. 

Experimentally, local vibrational modes associated witli a defect or impurity may appear in infra-red absorjrtion or Raman spectra. The defect centre may also give rise to new photoluminescence bands and otlier experimentally observable signature. Some defect-related energy levels may be visible by deep-level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) [23]. 

If tlie level(s) associated witli tlie defect are deep, tliey become electron-hole recombination centres. The result is a (sometimes dramatic) reduction in carrier lifetimes. Such an effect is often associated witli tlie presence of transition metal impurities or certain extended defects in tlie material. For example, substitutional Au is used to make fast switches in Si. Many point defects have deep levels in tlie gap, such as vacancies or transition metals. In addition, complexes, precipitates and extended defects are often associated witli recombination centres. The presence of grain boundaries, dislocation tangles and metallic precipitates in poly-Si photovoltaic devices are major factors which reduce tlieir efficiency. 

Deep-level defects cannot be described by EMT or be viewed as simple perturbations to tlie perfect crystal. Instead, tlie full crystal-plus-defect problem must be solved and tlie geometries around tlie defect optimized to account for lattice relaxations and distortions. The study of deep levels is an area of active research. 

In order to remove tlie unwanted electrical activity associated witli deep-level impurities or defects, one can eitlier physically displace tlie defect away from tlie active region of tlie device (gettering) or force it to react witli anotlier impurity to remove (or at least change) its energy eigenvalues and tlierefore its electrical activity passivation). 

The variations in D and D and the much larger value for In show the limitations of a simple hydrogen atom model. Other elements, particularly transition metals, tend to introduce several deep levels in the energy gap. For example, gold introduces a donor level 0.54 eV below D and an acceptor level 0.35 eV above D in siHcon. Because such impurities are effective aids to the recombination of electrons and holes, they limit carrier lifetime. 

Venkatasubramanian. V., and Rich, S., An object-oriented two-tier architecture for integrating compiled and deep level knowledge for process diagnosis. Comput. Chem. Eng. 12(9), 903 (1988). 

Despite this similarity with chemical shift, the Knight shift is grouped with the electron hyperfine term in (lb) to reflect the fact that both terms arise from the influence of the spin or orbital angular momentum of unpaired electrons. The distinction between the two is that for the electron hyperfine term the electron spin (or hole, as the absence of an electron can be described, e.g., in the case of d9 Cu++) is localized on a paramagnetic defect such as a deep-level transition metal ion. 

As in other semiconductors, H effectively neutralizes deep-level defects in Ge, but the structure of these centers has so far remained elusive and calls for further investigation. 

In this chapter we will list the deep-level centers passivated by atomic hydrogen in the major elemental semiconductor, namely Si, and discuss their thermal stability and the possible passivation mechanisms. As is the case with any aspect of hydrogen in semiconductors, much more work has been performed in Si than any of the other materials. 

Figure 1 shows a deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) (Lang, 1974) spectrum from a Au-diffused, n-type Si sample before and after hydrogenation of 300°C for 2h (Pearton and Tavendale, 1982a). The well-known Au acceptor level (Ec - 0.54 eV) was passivated to depths > 10 pm under these conditions and was only partially regenerated by a subsequent... 

Most of the other metal-related deep levels in Si are also passivated by reaction with hydrogen (Pearton, 1985). Silver, for example, gives rise in general to a donor level at Ee + 0.54 eV and an acceptor level at Ec - 0.54 e V (Chen and Milnes, 1980 Milnes, 1973). These levels are very similar to those shown by Au, Co and Rh and raise the question of whether Au might actually be introduced into all of the reported samples or a contaminant, or whether as discussed by several authors there is a similar core to these impurity centers giving rise to similar electronic properties (Mesli et al., 1987 Lang et al., 1980). This problem has not been adequately decided at this time. It has been... 

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