1302.3015 (F. Cadiz et al.)

Absence of an intrinsic value for the surface recombination velocity in
doped semiconductors    [PDF]

F. Cadiz, D. Paget, V. L. Berkovits, V. P. Ulin, S. Arscott, E. Peytavit, A. C. H. Rowe

A self-consistent expression for the surface recombination velocity $S$ and the surface Fermi level unpinning energy as a function of light excitation power ($P$) is presented for n- and p-type semiconductors doped above the 10$^{16}$ cm$^{-3}$ range. Measurements of $S$ on p-type GaAs films using a novel polarized microluminescence technique are used to illustrate two limiting cases of the model. For a naturally oxidized surface $S$ is described by a power law in $P$ whereas for a passivated surface $S^{-1}$ varies logarithmically with $P$. Furthermore, the variation in $S$ with surface state density and bulk doping level is found to be the result of Fermi level unpinning rather than a change in the intrinsic surface recombination velocity. It is concluded that $S$ depends on $P$ throughout the experimentally accessible range of excitation powers and therefore that no instrinsic value can be determined. Previously reported values of $S$ on a range of semiconducting materials are thus only valid for a specific excitation power.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1302.3015