Multi-phonon capture of charge carriers by dislocation kinks in semiconductors

In view of the problem of recombination-enhanced motion of dislocations in semiconductors, we studied the thermal capture of an electron by a smooth dislocation kink. Multi-phonon capture becomes possible due to localization of the carrier on the kink. The localized state on the smooth kink is studied in the deformation potential approximation. In this case the potential created by the kink is described by Poschl-Teller function, which enables to find the analytical expressions for the eigenstates and the corresponding wave functions. With the use of the ground state wave function we find the multi-phonon capture cross-section for two limiting temperature cases, corresponding to the thermally activated and quantum transitions between vibronic terms.     

Quantum dynamics of phonon assisted emission of carriers at deep level centers

A formalism is proposed to investigate quantum dynamics of localized states involving highly non-adiabatic time-evolution of electron-lattice systems. The effect of electron itinerancy is projected onto the dynamics of local variables through an integral kernel of Volterra's integral equation. The method is applied to the problem of thermal emission of carriers at deep level centers in semiconductors. It is shown that the real situation is in the adiabatic limit, and the probability of thermal emission of the trapped carriers is one per a single lattice oscillation, if the amplitude of the oscillation exceeds a critical value but zero if not.     

Interzone optical absorption in unordered semiconductors with consideration of multiphonon effects

The light absorption coefficient in a system with smooth Gaussian random field is calculated in the quasiclassical approximation with consideration of multiphonon transitions.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 12, pp. 37–43, December, 1979.     

Free electron laser study of the suppression of non-radiative scattering processes in semiconductors

A brief review is given of pump–probe studies of far infrared inter-sub-level relaxation between conduction band states in doped `quasi' quantum dots (created by the application of a magnetic field along the growth direction of an InAs/AlSb quantum well) and of mid-infrared (MIR) interband recombination in narrow gap semiconductors, using the free electron laser at FOM-Rijnhuizen (FELIX). In the former case, the longitudinal optic (LO) phonon scattering rate is shown to be suppressed by a factor of about 100 when the Landau level separation is off-resonance with the optical phonon energy; in the latter case, Auger recombination is shown to be substantially suppressed in the lead salts due to their `mirror' energy band structure.     

Nature of gallium deep centres in lead telluride based semiconductors

Doped with Ga lead telluride was taken as a model object to explain the nature of group-III deep levels in IV-VI semiconductors and to elucidate the vapour phase doping mechanism. For this goal, interaction of various gallium-containing molecules with defect-free crystal as well as with native defects in PbTe was considered. Formation energies for different point defects created in PbTe as a result of interaction the Ga₂Te molecules, Ga₂ dimers and single Ga atoms with a host crystal were calculated using density functional theory. Particularly Ga_Pb and Ga_i together with formation of accompanied self interstitials Pb_i in various charge states were examined. In addition we propose the new type of defects - the impurity complex (2Ga)_Pb which looks like <111>-oriented gallium dumbbell. Calculations suggest the double donor behaviour and DX-like properties of this defect together with extremely low formation energy values. Namely, (2Ga)_Pb centres are preferably formed under Ga₂Te doping while (Ga₂)_Pb+Pb_i ones are formed under Ga₂ or Ga doping. In all cases, formation energies are negative and resulting defect concentration is determined by reaction kinetics only. Mechanisms of the lead vacancy compensation with the vapour phase doping are considered as well.     

Determination of deep electron traps in GaAs by time-resolved capacitance measurement

A useful technique of determining the energy levels and the spatial density distributions of multiple electron traps in semi-conductor has been developed using the time-resolved measurement of the Schottky barrier junction capacitance, and this technique has been applied to characterize the electron traps inn-GaAs. In the present technique, the energy levels are determined from single scan of temperature, and the density distributions are calculated from a set of capacitance-voltage relationships. Four traps which lay at 0.39, 0.73, 0.79, and 0.58 eV below the conduction band edge were observed in boat grown or vapor phase epitaxially grown crystals. Many layers which were obtained by a vapor phase epitaxial growth system with N₂ carrier gas were measured and it was found that almost all of them include the 0.73 eV and the 0.79 eV trap with the density between 1×10¹³ and 2×10¹⁵ cm⁻³.     

Effects of cascade capture of non-equilibrium carriers on the faraday rotation in covalent semiconductors

Faraday rotation characteristics due to non-equilibrium electrons in a covalent semiconductor are obtained under the condition when the cascade capture of the carriers is effective. It is shown that the results obtained here are useful for estimating some capture parameters.     

Electron-phonon interaction effects on the surface states in wurtzite nitride semiconductors

A variational approach is used to study the surface states of an electron in a semi-infinite wurtzite nitride semiconductor. The surface-state energy of the electron is calculated, by taking the effects of the electron-surface optical phonon interaction and structure anisotropy into account. The numerical computation has been performed for the energies of the electronic surface states as a function of the surface potential V₀ for wurtzite GaN, AlN, and InN, respectively. The results show that the electron-phonon interaction lowers the surface state energy. It is also found that the energies of the electronic surface-state in wurtzite structures are lower than that in the zinc-blende structures by hundreds of meV for the materials calculated. The influence of e-p-interactions on the surface state of electron cannot be neglected.     

Final state effects of deep impurities in semiconductors

Current theoretical and computational models for optical excitation processes of deep level impurities in semiconductors tend to concentrate on the impurity itself, largely ignoring the effects the impurity has no final states. Using a spherical band model, we show these effects can be included in calculations on optical absorption processes. The band state is modified by the presence of the impurity and this modified state is used in the calculation of optical matrix elements. We show that final state effects can cause significant changes in the local density of states and optical matrix elements.     

Drag of carriers by photons in narrow-gap semiconductors

The current representing the drag of carriers by photons is calculated for cubic narrow-gap semiconductors allowing for the nonparabolicity and nonsphericity of the valence subbands. A quantitative Kane model is used to obtain a general tensor expression for the photocurrent related to the coefficients representing the nonparabolicity of the light-hole subband and the nonsphericity of the heavy-hole subband. The results are given of a numerical calculation of the principal parameters of the drag current in the form of components of the elementary tensors (as a function of temperature) and of the coefficient representing the nonparabolicity (as a function of the wavelength of the incident light) in the case of narrow-gap Hg_1–xCd_xTe solid solutions.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 5, pp. 62–66, May, 1980.     

The effects of core structure on radiative and non-radiative recombinations at metal ion substituents in semiconductors and phosphors

Carrier binding and recombination processes at transition metal (TM) and post-transition metal impurities in solids are reviewed. The presence of low-lying empty core orbitals in these impurities introduces novel binding and recombination phenomena and leads naturally to a classification of impurity centres as ‘simple’ or ‘structured’. ‘Simple’ impurities, generally the main group elements, introduce only effective-mass-like states into the forbidden gap of the host lattice, whereas ‘structured’ impurities show localized atomic-like transitions below the lattice absorption edge. The fact that donor or acceptor centres generated by TM ions in semiconductors are usually deep is discussed with reference to a simple oxidationstate correlation diagram based on the variable chemical valency characteristic of these ions. Many metal ion impurities in solids generate iso-electronic centres however, and evidence is assembled to show how the normally accepted range of iso-electronic centres can be extended to include such impurities. It is emphasized that the formation of bound states at these ‘structured’ cationic iso-electronic centres is fairly common, in contrast to the situation normally found for anionic substituents in semiconductors. A possible explanation for this general property of structured iso-electronic centres is given in terms of the low-lying core levels which they may introduce in the band gap and their enhanced polarizability. Simple arguments then suggest that those centres showing electron ionization thresholds or atomic inter-configurational transitions just below E _g should be hole-attractive, whereas those showing charge transfer transitions should be electron-attractive. It is shown that two kinds of defect Auger recombination (DAR) may be significant for excitons localized at structured impurities. The first involves hole ionization at a deep neutral acceptor, and the conditions which must be met to make this process significant at room temperature are reviewed. The second DAR process involves the transfer of carrier recombination energy to the core electrons of the structured impurity. A simple model developed for this energy transfer process predicts that the coupling between exciton and core states will be larger if the impurity shows strong, broad dipole-allowed transitions quasi-resonant with the lattice absorption edge. Throughout the paper we stress the importance of recombination processes at structured impurities to the problems of phosphor activation and of shunt recombination mechanisms in semiconductor LEDs. In the final sections this general framework of ideas is used to explain the relative cathodoluminescence efficiencies of different rare-earth activators in crystals of Y₃Al₅O₁₂, with good agreement between the theoretical predictions and the experimental observations. Possible evidence for the occurrence of bound exciton states at structured TM impurities is found in the appearance of anomalously weak zero-phonon lines in the near-edge luminescence of GaP crystals prepared under special conditions.     

Defect-level analysis of semiconductors by a new differential evaluation ofn(1/T)-characteristics

A new method for the defect-level analysis of extrinsic semiconductors is described. Provided that the defect-level concentration is not too large and the temperature is not too low, the Fermi levelE _F is shifted with increasing temperature from a position near the conduction (or valence) band towards the middle of the forbidden gap monotonously. Thus majority carriers are emitted into the conduction (or valence) band from the defect levels successively. If for a small increment of the temperature the Fermi levelE _F is shifted by ΔE _F and the concentration of free majority carriers is increased by Δn, then the ratio Δn/ΔE _F is a measure of the defect-level concentration within ΔE _F . Furthermore we discuss how this analysis is influenced by additional defect levels outside the range over which the Fermi energy can be shifted by variation of the temperature.     

Outdiffusion of deep electron traps in epitaxial GaAs

The annealing by outdiffusion of the “A-center” in GaAs (a deep electron trap, sometimes attributed to oxygen) has been studied quantitatively, and the diffusion coefficient determined as a function of temperature between 600 and 750 centigrade. Work supported in part by the Direction Générale de la Recherche Scientifique et Technique (D.G.R.S.T.)     

Electronic band gaps of semiconductors as influenced by their isotopic composition

The present paper focuses on the renormalization effects of the band gaps in the electronic band structure of the elemental semiconductors traced to zero-point vibrations. Electron-phonon interaction and volume changes (in combination with anharmonicity) are the underlying microscopic mechanisms, both dependent on M^−1/2, M being the average isotopic mass. Thus isotopically controlled crystals offer an extraordinary opportunity to test the theoretical predictions with a variety of spectroscopic techniques. The paper discusses the theoretical predictions and their experimental verifications, exploiting derivative and photoluminescence spectroscopy. Illustrative examples on Si and Ge, drawn from the investigations of the authors, are presented.     

Defects in silicon: the role of vibrational entropy

Vibrational free energies are calculated from first-principles in the same Si periodic supercells routinely used to perform defect calculations. The specific heat, vibrational entropy, and zero-point energy obtained in defect-free cells are very close to the measured values. The importance of the vibrational part of the free energy is studied in the case of two defect problems: the relative energies of the H₂ and H₂^∗ dimers and the binding energy of a copper pair. In both cases, the vibrational entropy term causes total energy differences to change by about 0.2 eV between 0 and 800 K. We also comment on the rotational entropy in the case of H₂ and the configurational entropy in the case of the Cu pair. These examples illustrate the importance of extending first-principles calculations of defects in semiconductors to include free energy contributions.     

The influence of deep levels on the temperature coefficient of ion-implanted resistive layers in silicon

Ion-implanted high ohmic resistors may exhibit a low temperature coefficient, if the annealing after implantation is not complete. This effect is explained by deep energy levels. Experimental results are presented for B⁺- and Al⁺-implanted resistors.     

High magnetic field effects on shallow and deep impurities in semiconductors

It is shown that high magnetic fields provide an efficient means to distinguish strongly localized impurity states from shallow, effective-mass-like states, irrespective of the binding energies of these states. The ground and excited states of a simple model Hamiltonian for shallow and deep impurities are analyzed for arbitrary magnetic field strengths.     

Competition in the carrier capture between InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum dots and deep point defects

The presence of an extrinsic photoluminescence (PL) band peaked at 1.356 eV at low temperature is observed, on a large number of self-assembled InAs and In_0.5Ga_0.5As quantum dot (QD) structures, when exciting just below the GaAs absorption edge. A detailed optical characterization allows us to attribute the 1.356 eV PL band to the radiative transition between the conduction band and the doubly ionized Cu _Ga acceptor in GaAs. A striking common feature is observed in all investigated samples, namely a resonant quenching of the QD-PL when exciting on the excited level of this deep defect. Moreover, the photoluminescence excitation (PLE) spectrum of the 1.356 eV emission turns out to be almost specular to the QD PLE. This correlation between the PL efficiency of the QDs and the Cu centers evidences a competition in the carrier capture arising from a resonant coupling between the excited level of the defect and the electronic states of the wetting layer on which the QDs nucleate. The estimated Cu concentration is compatible with a contamination during the epitaxial growth. Received 13 November 2001 / Received in final form 28 May 2002 Published online 19 July 2002