Suppression of the dominant recombination center in n -type GaAs by proximity annealing of wafers

Journal Article · Sat Dec 01 04:00:00 EST 1990 · Journal of Applied Physics; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.346995· OSTI ID:6026933

Wong, D; Schlesinger, T E; Milnes, A G ^[1]

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1. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 (USA)

{ital n}-type GaAs specimens have been annealed in sealed quartz ampoules and characterized with electron-beam-induced current and photoresponse measurements, deep-level transient spectroscopy, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. By correlating changes in the concentrations of defects with minority-carrier diffusion length ({ital L}{sub {ital p}}) it is shown that the dominant recombination center in this material is a hole trap termed HCX ({ital E}{sub {ital v}}+0.29 eV). Increases in {ital L}{sub {ital p}} of up to a factor of 3, which can be achieved by proximity annealing at 950 {degree}C for 16 h, are related to the loss of As from the specimen surfaces during the early stages of annealing. The beneficial effect of the annealing is associated with a limited source diffusion process since the total amount of As loss is determined by the ratio of the ampoule volume to the GaAs surface area. Proximity protection of the surfaces is necessary to prevent the generation of a Ga vacancy-related hole trap HCZ ({ital E}{sub {ital v}}+0.57 eV).

• OSTI ID: 6026933
• Journal Information: Journal of Applied Physics; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of Applied Physics; (USA) Vol. 68:11; ISSN 0021-8979; ISSN JAPIA
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140501* -- Solar Energy Conversion-- Photovoltaic Conversion
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360601 -- Other Materials-- Preparation & Manufacture
ANNEALING
ARSENIC COMPOUNDS
ARSENIDES
ATOM TRANSPORT
CHARGE CARRIERS
DEEP LEVEL TRANSIENT SPECTROSCOPY
DIRECT ENERGY CONVERTERS
EFFICIENCY
EQUIPMENT
FABRICATION
GALLIUM ARSENIDE SOLAR CELLS
GALLIUM ARSENIDES
GALLIUM COMPOUNDS
HEAT TREATMENTS
HOLE MOBILITY
MOBILITY
NEUTRAL-PARTICLE TRANSPORT
PASSIVATION
PHOTOELECTRIC CELLS
PHOTOVOLTAIC CELLS
PNICTIDES
RADIATION TRANSPORT
RECOMBINATION
SOLAR CELLS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SPECTROSCOPY