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http://dx.doi.org/10.5573/JSTS.2008.8.4.311

A New Method for the Determination of Carrier Lifetime in Silicon Wafers from Conductivity Modulation Measurements  

Elani, Ussama A. (Renewable Energy & Environment Group, Department of Physics & Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University)
Publication Information
JSTS:Journal of Semiconductor Technology and Science / v.8, no.4, 2008 , pp. 311-317 More about this Journal
Abstract
The measurement of dark ${\sigma}_D$, gamma-induced ${\sigma}_{\gamma}$ conductivities and the expected conductivity modulation ${\Delta}_{\sigma}$ in silicon wafers/samples is studied for developing a new technique for carrier lifetime evaluation. In this paper a simple method is introduced to find the carrier lifetime variations with the measured conductivity and conductivity modulation under dark and gamma irradiation conditions. It will be concluded that this simple method enables us to give an improved wafer evaluation, processing and quality control in the field of photovoltaic materials and other electronic devices.
Keywords
Silicon wafers; photovoltaic devices; conductivity modulation measurement; minority carrier lifetime; semiconductor materials quality;
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