Measurement of trapped-minority-carrier thermal emission rates from Au, Ag, and Co traps in silicon

Abstract

A new technique for measuring thermal emission rates of trapped minority carriers is experimentally demonstrated in reverse-biased n+p silicon diodes doped with gold, silver, and cobalt. It makes use of a monochromatic light of a proper photon energy to partially fill the traps with minority carriers (electrons). After the light is turned off, the thermal emission rates of the minority carriers are observed. A unique feature is that the thermal emission rates for both the minority and majority carrier traps can be accurately determined in just one p-n junction, of either a p+n or n+p type.