Electron transport in corona charged 12 μm teflon FEP with saturable deep traps

Surface-potential measurements carried out in negatively corona charged 12 m samples of fluorethylenepropylene (Teflon FEP) showed the following characteristics: 1) with a constant charging current, the potential initially rises linearly, and then sublinearly; 2) the potential saturates irrespectively of the charging process and 3) practically no potential decay is observed after switching off the corona. These results have been interpreted in terms of an usual model (field-independent trapping time) for charge transport in insulators, with saturable deep traps in both surface and bulk of the sample and a relatively high electron mobility in order to prevent free-space charge accumulation. The partial differential equations derived from the model are numerically solved and it was found that only the product of the mobility with the trapping time is relevant to the fitting of experimental results, provided that >10^–8 cm²/Vs. A field-dependent trapping time model leads to poorer fittings.     

Constant schubweg for hole transport in corona charged fluorethylenepropylene

Thin (25 m) foils of Teflon^® FEP are charged positively in a constant-current corona triode with currents between 1–6×10^–9 A to a voltage of 3 kV. Experimental results give the voltage as a function of time during charging and during the discharge which occurs after the corona current has been turned off. Results can be interpreted in terms of a theory which introduces shallow surface and deep bulk traps and assumes that the field-induced carrier drift is characterized by a constant schubweg.     

Constant hole schubweg in Teflon FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer)

The hole schubweg (distance travelled between deep trapping events) in Teflon FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene copolymer) is determined by measuring the mean depth of charge injected from the polymer surface, with various fields applied to the sample. It is found that the mean-depth of the injected charge after deep trapping is independent of the electrical field strength from 0.04 to 0.4 MV/cm. The lower value of 0.04 MV/cm is determined by the sensitivity of the method.     

Subpicosecond carrier trapping in high-defect-density amorphous Si and GaAs

The relaxation of photoexcited carriers in a-Si and a-GaAs has been studied with subpicosecond time resolution by excite-and-probe experiments. The measured time dependence of the induced reflectivity and absorption reveals that the initial trapping of mobile carriers in high-defect-density materials occurs on a subpicosecond time scale.     

Mechanism of conductivity in metal-polymer-metal structures

Received: 25 September 1998 / Accepted: 25 November 1998 / Published online: 24 February 1999     

The distribution of trapping states at the Al/InP-oxide interface

The volume density of trapping states is derived throughout the metal-dielectric interface. This has been facilitated by equating the dielectric loss component to the tunneling conductance using a new relaxation time formulation. Subsequently, the trap distribution at the Al/InPO₄ interface has featured a peak of 1.15×10¹⁹ cm^–3 at about 15 Å from the Al contacting electrode. The new approach could be extended to deal with semiconductor-dielectric interfaces.     

The electrical properties of doped silicon,grown by Molecular-Beam-Epitaxy (MBE)

Measurements of the Hall coefficients and of the resistivity of MBE-grown Si, doped with P, As, Sb, B, and Ga in the concentration range 10¹⁴ to 10²⁰ cm^–3, were carried out at 77 K and at 300 K. With the exception of Ga-doped Si, the measured mobilities were close to or higher than those of bulk materials at both temperatures. The Mott metal/non-metal transition has been observed in the present epitaxial materials and the measured values for the critical impurity concentration at which the transition occurs, agree with values reported by other workers for bulk silicon.     

Electron mobility in compensated VPE GaAs films

Electron Hall mobilities were measured on a series of intentionally compensated vapor phase epitaxy (VPE) GaAs layers. Using Sn and Zn as dopants, compensation ratiosK=(N_D+N_A)/(N_D-N_A) as high as 50 were obtained. Already for samples with the lowestK values the 300 K mobilities are higher than the 77 K values. In the range 20<T<100 [K] the data may be represented by μ∼T ^α with α increasing from 0.6 to 1.1 with compensation. The experimental μ values are smaller than those predicted from current models in all cases. It appears that scattering at ionized impurities is the dominant process also at temperatures well above 77 K, and that this scattering process is quantitatively underestimated in current models.     

Photoconductance‐calibrated photoluminescence lifetime imaging of crystalline silicon

We use photoluminescence (PL) measurements by a silicon charge‐coupled device camera to generate high‐resolution lifetime images of multicrystalline silicon wafers. Absolute values of the excess carrier density are determined by calibrating the PL image by means of contactless photoconductance measurements. The photoconductance setup is integrated in the camera‐based PL setup and therefore identical measurement conditions are realised. We demonstrate the validity of this method by comparison with microwave‐detected photoconductance decay measurements. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Determination of photoexcited carrier concentration and mobility in GaAs doping superlattices by hall effect measurements

The photo-Hall effect in a new type of periodicp-n doping multilayer structures (superlattices) of GaAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy has been investigated. In these space charge systems electrons and holes are separated in real space. As a consequence, large deviations from thermal equilibrium become quasi-stable. Carrier generation by optical absorption occurs in these doping superlattices even at photon energies far below the gap of the homogeneous semiconductor material. The photoexcitation results in a strong enhancement of the conductivityparallel to the layers and in a substantial photovoltaic response. An increase in carrierconcentration as well as an increase in carriermobility both contribute to the observed enhancement of the conductivity under excitation. The absolute values of changes in free-carrier concentration are very large due to the manyfold active layers of the structure. The measured free-carrier mobilities depend on the population of the multilayer system. A reduction in mobility as compared to bulk material is found to be more pronounced in weakly populated systems. This finding is caused by the larger weight of the boundary regions of the total active layers where the free-carrier density is lower than the density of ionized impurities resulting in an enhanced impurity scattering.     

Hot carrier effects in double injection phenomena

Carrier heating is shown to be responsible for unusualI(V) characteristics observed in small-sizep ⁺ nn ⁺ silicon on sapphire (SOS) devices. The classical quadratic law of the semiconductor regime becomes linear for high fields. The influence of dimensions and doping is experimentally checked and a model, based on the regional approximation method, is proposed. The key role is assumed by the hot-carrier region, growing from the cathode, where the electron and hole mobilities are field dependent: µ~E^–. A full agreement with the experiment in SOS is found for=0.5. The operating of hot carrierp ⁺ nn ⁺ devices can be described concretely with usual formalism by using the concept of effective carrier mobilities, which depend on the applied voltage.     

Transient photoluminescence decay study of minority carrier lifetime in GaAs heteroface solar cell structures

Transient photoluminescence decay has been studied theoretically and experimentally as a technique for the investigation of GaAs solar cell materials and solar cell structures. The time-dependent continuity equation was solved using two variable boundary conditions modelling the interface between the emitter and hetero-window layer (AlGaAs) and between the emitter and space charge region, respectively. The solution was found with help of the Fourier transform method and the method of residues. There results an analytical expression for the time dependent photoluminescence (PL) intensity. The influence of various solar cell parameters on this photoluminescence transient has been studied in detail. An experimental investigation of transient PL decay was performed using a synchronously pumped mode locked and cavity dumped Nd:YAG/dye laser system for excitation and an optical sampling oscilloscope as the detector. GaAs wafers with and without surface passivation have been measured as well as hetero-window pn-structures and processed solar cells. A fit of the theoretical PL transients to the measured transients allows surface and bulk recombination parameters to be determined.Dedicated to H.-J. Queisser on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Rapid thermal process-induced recombination centers in ion implanted silicon

This work presents direct evidence for a correlation between rapid thermal process-induced recombination centers and co-implanted metallic impurities in ion implanted silicon. Experimental evidence includes the dose dependence of the minority carrier diffusion length measured by the SPV technique, SIMS and RBS analysis of high-dose implantations which show the presence of heavy metals, the dependence of the final diffusion lengths on the mass of the implanted ions, as well as the successful modification of an implantation equipment.     

Photoinjection studies of ion-implantation-induced electron traps in MOS structures

Trapping centers related to P⁺ and B⁺ ions implanted in the SiO₂ layer as well as traps introduced into SiO₂ during boron implantation through the oxide into the silicon substrate have been investigated. The internal photoemission method has been used to estimate their capture cross section and total densityN _t .     

Noise and correlation functions of hot carriers in semiconductors

We present a unifying theory of electronic noise appropriate to semiconductor materials in the presence of electric fields of arbitrary strength. In addition to thermal noise, a classification scheme for excess noise indicating different microscopic sources of fluctuations responsible for number and mobility fluctuations is provided. On the basis of simple two-level models, numerical calculations using a Monte Carlo technique are performed for the case of p-type Si at 77 K. The primary quantity which is evaluated by the theory is the auto-correlation function of current fluctuations which, subsequently, is analyzed in terms of correlation functions of the relevant physical variables. Accordingly, the corresponding current spectral-densities are determined and then compared with direct experimental results and/or analytical expressions. Important subjects which have been investigated are: (i) the effect of field assisted ionization on generation-recombination noise from shallow impurity levels; (ii) the contribution to the total noise spectrum of cross-correlation terms coupling fluctuations in velocity with those in energy and number; (iii) the current random telegraph signal and the corresponding spectral density associated with a mobility fluctuator. In all cases the numerical calculations are found to be in satisfactory agreement with experiments and/or analytical expressions thus fully supporting the physical reliability of the theoretical approach here proposed.List of the Symbols Used e Absolute value of the electron charge - f Frequency - f Distribution function - g ₁ Scattering strength with the scatter in state 1 - g ₂ Scattering strength with the scatter in state 2 - Reduced Planck constant - j Total current density - j _c Conduction current density - j _d Displacement current density - j _x Component along the x direction of the total current density - k Carrier wavevector - m Carrier effective mass - m ₀ Free electron mass - r Position vector - s Average sound velocity - t Time - u Fraction of ionized carriers - u _i Random telegraph signal related to carrier state - u _m Random telegraph signal related to scatterer state - v _d Ensemble average of the free carrier drift-velocity - v _i Carrier group velocity - v _t Ensemble average of the carrier velocity in the direction transverse to the applied field - v _ix Component along the x direction of the carrier group velocity - v _d ^r Ensemble average of the reduced drift-velocity - v ^r _i Reduced velocity component in the field direction of the i-th particle - v _ix ^j Reduced velocity component along the x axis of the i-th particle in band j - v ^r _ix Reduced velocity component along the x axis of the i-th particle - x _d Ensemble average of the carrier displacement along the x direction from the initial position - x _i Displacement along the x direction of the i-th carrier from the initial position - y _i i-th stochastic parameter - A Cross-sectional area of a homogeneous sample - C _I Auto-correlation function of the total current fluctuations - Auto-correlation function of the total current fluctuations due to mobility fluctuations - D Diffusion coefficient - D _t K Optical deformation potential - E Electrical field strength - E Electric field - E _x Component of the electric field along the x direction - E ₁ ⁰ Acoustic deformation potential - G Conductance - I Total current - I ₀ Total current in the voltage noise operation - I _m Total current associated with mobility fluctuations - I ^V Total current in the current noise operation - K _B Boltzmann constant - L Length of a homogeneous sample - N Number of free carriers which are instantaneously present in the device - N _A Acceptor concentration - N _I Total number of carriers inside the device participating in the transport (here assumed to be constant in time) - N _T Total number of carriers which are instantaneously present in the device - S _I Spectral density of current fluctuations - S _V Spectral density of voltage fluctuations - Spectral density of current fluctuations associated with the mobility fluctuations - Spectral density of current fluctuations due to correlations between fluctuations in number and velocity - Spectral density of current fluctuations due to generation-recombination processes - Spectral density of current fluctuations due to free carrier drift-velocity fluctuations - S _I ^l Longitudinal component with respect to the applied field of the current spectral-density - S _I ^t Transverse component with respect to the applied field of the current spectral-density - T Absolute temperature - T _e Electron temperature - V Electrical potential - V ^I Electrical potential in the voltage noise operation - W Collision rate - Z Small signal impedance - Poole-Frenkel factor - Equilibrium generation rate - _E Field dependent generation rate - Typical energy for thermally escaping from the impurity level - v _d ⁽⁰⁾ Fluctuation of the ensemble average of the driftvelocity associated with Brownian-like motion - v _d ^r(0) Fluctuation of the ensemble average of the reduced drift-velocity associated with Brownian-like motion - Carrier energy - ₀ Vacuum permittivity - _a Energy of the acceptor level - _r Relative static dielectric constant - Angle between initial and final k states - _op Optical phonon equivalent temperature - Mobility - ₀ Chemical potential - ₁ Mobility with the fluctuating scatterer in state 1 - ₂ Mobility with the fluctuating scatterer in state 2 - ₀ Crystal density - _E Field dependent volume recombination rate - _eq Equilibrium volume recombination rate - Conductivity - _g Cross-section for impact ionization - _c Average scattering time - _g Generation time - _l Carrier lifetime - _m Scatterer lifetime - _m1 Mean value of the time spent by the fluctuating scatterer in state 1 - _m2 Mean value of the time spent by the fluctuating scatterer in state 2 - _r Average recombination time - _T Transit time - Scattering rate - _AB Correlation function of the two variables A and B     

Core-electron binding energies in atoms and monolayers adsorbed on metallic substrates

A Born-Haber cycle analysis of photoemission from atoms and monolayers adsorbed on metallic surfaces elucidates the effects of the substrate on the initial and final state contributions to measured core-electron binding energies. For rare gases both a dependence on the work function of the substrate and on the final state screening energy are identified. Depending on the relative magnitudes of the work function of the substrate and the ionization potential of the core-ionized atom, the screening charge may reside either in the substrate or on the adsorbate atom itself. Within the monolayer range, the coverage-dependence of the core-electron binding energy is shown to be largely a final-state effect. The Born-Haber cycle relating the Auger decay energy of an adsorbed core-ionized atom to that of a similar free atom is also presented. These formulations are tested using data for Xe adsorbed on Pd and Cs.     

Free-standing tetracene single crystal field effect transistor

We have fabricated and studied field effect transistors (FETs) on the optically transparent free-standing organic single crystals of tetracene. These FETs exhibit effective hole channel mobility μ_eff up to 0.15 cm²/Vs and on-off ratios up to 2×10⁷. Using measured values of μ_eff, thermal activation energy, and a simple model, we deduce an intrinsic free carrier mobility in the range of tens of cm²/Vs, similar to that found in pentacene crystals. These values should be considered only as a rough indication of achievable mobilities in samples much purer than those presently studied. The obtained results show the possibility of FET behavior in transparent crystals with low intrinsic carrier density.     

Modeling light trapping and electronic transport of waffle-shaped crystalline thin-film Si solar cells

Monocrystalline Si films from the novel perforated-Si process are candidates for the fabrication of thin-film solar cells because their waffle shape enhances the optical absorption and hence permits the use of films with a thickness of only a few microns. We study the optics of waffle cells by three-dimensional Monte Carlo ray-tracing. A high photogeneration of 38 mA/cm² from a film of thickness W_f=4 μm is possible due to a detached Al-back surface reflector that has an effective reflectance of 99.7% at 1250 nm. Our analytical model for light trapping in thin films explains this high reflectance. Two-dimensional numerical transport modeling reveals the existence of an optimum texture period p≈2W_f that originates from a carrier collection efficiency that increases with texture period while the photogeneration decreases with period. For well-passivated cells the optimum thickness W_f is at least one fifth of the diffusion length L. Efficiencies of 17% to 18% are feasible with waffle films of 1 to 3 μm in thickness. We introduce an analytic model for the minority carrier transport that agrees with two-dimensional numerical modeling to within 10% and reduces the computation time by orders of magnitude. This analytic model is also applicable to conformal thin-film geometries differing from the waffle geometry. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999 / Published online: 24 June 1999     

Characterization of amorphous silicon films by contactless transient photoconductivity measurements

Contactless transient photoconductivity measurements of intrinsic a-Si: H films in the microwave frequency range are presented. The measurements are evaluated quantitatively and the electron drift mobility is determined. It is shown that the influence of the surface on the observed decay behaviour can be neglected. A relation between the long time decay behaviour and the position of the Fermi level is observed.     

Enhancement of carrier mobility in pentacene thin-film transistor on SiO2 by controlling the initial film growth modes

Pentacene thin-film transistors (TFTs) were fabricated on thermally grown SiO₂ gate insulator under the conditions of various pre-cleaning treatments. Initial nucleation and growth of the material films on treated substrates were observed by atomic force microscope. The performance of fabricated TFT devices with different surface cleaning approaches was found to be highly related to the initial film morphologies. In contrast to the three-dimensional island-like growth mode on SiO₂ under an organic cleaning process, a layer-by-layer initial growth occurred on the SiO₂ insulator cleaned with ammonia solution, which was believed to be the origination of the excellent electrical properties of the TFT device. Field effect mobility of the TFT device could achieve as high as 1.0 cm²/Vs on the bared SiO₂/Si substrate and the on/off ratio was over 10⁶.