Microwave reflections for carrier lifetime measurements: a comprehensive study on sensitivity and transient response

Author

Schöfthaler, Martin ; Brendel, Rolf

Author_Institution

Max-Planck-Inst. fur Festkorperforschung, Stuttgart, Germany

Volume

2

fYear

1994

fDate

5-9 Dec 1994

Firstpage

1656

Abstract

The time-resolved microwave reflection technique is widely used for process control in the photovoltaic community. We demonstrate how to optimize the sensitivity and the reliability of carrier lifetime measurements with this method. Our approach is based on a dielectric multilayer model that allows us to calculate microwave reflection transients from excess carrier decay after pulsed laser excitation. We find that the reflected microwave power mirrors the carrier decay only if the reflector is positioned appropriately

Keywords

carrier lifetime; electric variables measurement; high-frequency effects; microwave reflectometry; minority carriers; semiconductors; sensitivity; solar cells; transient analysis; transient response; carrier decay; carrier lifetime measurements; dielectric multilayer model; microwave reflection transients; minority carriers; photovoltaic community; process control; pulsed laser excitation; sensitivity; solar cells; time-resolved technique; transient response; Charge carrier lifetime; Dielectric measurements; Microwave measurements; Microwave theory and techniques; Nonhomogeneous media; Optical reflection; Optimization methods; Photovoltaic systems; Process control; Solar power generation;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, 1994., Conference Record of the Twenty Fourth. IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference - 1994, 1994 IEEE First World Conference on

Conference_Location

Waikoloa, HI

Print_ISBN

0-7803-1460-3

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/WCPEC.1994.520536

Filename

520536