Low temperature saturation of p-n junction laser beam induced current signals

To date, most studies of the use of laser beam induced current (LBIC) for non-destructive characterisation of photodiodes have been qualitative and/or empirical, due in part to the difficulty of isolating the influence of the large number of material and device parameters on which the LBIC signal is dependent. The development of methodologies whereby these parameters can be determined quantitatively from the LBIC measurements is important for the technique to gain wider acceptance. This work describes, for the first time, the specific experimental conditions under which some of the variable parameters can be eliminated, substantially reducing the complexity of the analysis. In particular, temperature dependence of the peak-to-peak LBIC measurements on p-n junctions is examined for the first time, revealing that a saturation state is reached at low temperatures. When measurements are performed under these saturation conditions, the peak-to-peak LBIC signal becomes independent of doping density and bulk recombination parameters, allowing other parameters including device geometry to be examined with less ambiguity. This concept represents a crucial step towards a quantitative procedure for extraction of p-n junction material and device parameters using LBIC. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.