Recombination measurement of n-type heavily doped layer in high/low silicon junctions

The hole lifetime within a heavily doped n⁺ region has been determined using a measurement technique which evaluates the effective recombination velocity of n-n⁺ interfaces. The recombination model of a high/low junction is reviewed. The experiment is described. The measurement results are presented and discussed. Measurements of n⁺ layers of different types, like substrates, implanted buried layers, and diffused layers, suggest that the minority-carrier lifetime of such regions can be strongly degraded by the device fabrication processes. Results are consistent with the Shockley-Reed-Hall (SRH) lifetime value, which is two orders of magnitude lower than previously published values for bulk material