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Comprehensive Characterization of Extended Defects in Semiconductor Materials by a Scanning Electron Microscope
Published on: May 28, 2016
Carrier-induced transient defect mechanism for non-radiative recombination in InGaN light-emitting devices
Junhyeok Bang1,2, Y Y Sun1, Jung-Hoon Song3
1Department of Physics, Applied Physics &Astronomy, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY 12180, USA.
Abstract:
Non-radiative recombination (NRR) of excited carriers poses a serious challenge to optoelectronic device efficiency. Understanding the mechanism is thus crucial to defect physics and technological applications. Here, by using first-principles calculations, we propose a new NRR mechanism, where excited carriers recombine via a Frenkel-pair (FP) defect formation. While in the ground state the FP is high in energy and is unlikely to form, in the electronic excited states its formation is enabled by a strong electron-phonon coupling of the excited carriers. This NRR mechanism is expected to be general for wide-gap semiconductors, rather than being limited to InGaN-based light emitting devices.
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