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Updated: May 21, 2026

Carrier Lifetime Measurements in Semiconductors through the Microwave Photoconductivity Decay Method
Published on: April 18, 2019
Mapping of minority carrier lifetime distributions in multicrystalline silicon using transient electron-beam-induced
Takuya Kushida1, Shigeyasu Tanaka, Chiaki Morita
1Department of Electronics, EcoTopia Science Institute, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan.
Abstract:
We have used transient electron-beam-induced current (EBIC) to map minority carrier lifetime distributions in multicrystalline Silicon (mc-Si). In this technique, the electron beam from a scanning transmission electron microscope was on-off modulated while the sample was scanned. The resulting transient EBIC was analyzed to form a lifetime map. An analytical function was introduced as part of the analysis in determining this map. We have verified this approach using numerical simulations and have reproduced a lifetime map for an mc-Si wafer.
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