An open circuit voltage decay system for performing injection dependent lifetime spectroscopy

Area of Science:

• Semiconductor physics and device engineering.
• Materials science and characterization.

Background:

• Carrier lifetime is a critical, dynamic parameter in semiconductor devices, influencing performance metrics like conductivity modulation, on-state voltage, and reverse recovery.
• It serves as a key indicator for device fabrication process control and material quality.
• Unlike static parameters, carrier lifetime's variability necessitates direct measurement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel, stand-alone system for measuring carrier lifetime across a wide injection range.
• To develop and implement unique algorithms for accurate carrier lifetime extraction.
• To validate the system and algorithms by extracting fundamental recombination parameters from a commercial high-voltage PIN diode.

Main Methods:

• Development of a wide-injection range open-circuit voltage decay (OCVD) system.
• Implementation of advanced lifetime extraction algorithms.
• Application of lifetime spectroscopy techniques for parameter extraction.

Main Results:

• Successful operation of the stand-alone OCVD system.
• Accurate extraction of carrier lifetime values.
• Determination of fundamental recombination parameters in a high-voltage PIN diode.

Conclusions:

• The developed OCVD system and extraction algorithms provide a robust method for measuring dynamic carrier lifetime.
• This technique is valuable for material quality assessment and device process control.
• The study demonstrates the system's efficacy in characterizing semiconductor device parameters.