Thermally stimulated currents in amorphous solids at mixed carrier recombination, Part I: Non-equilibrium approximation

Thermally stimulated currents (TSCs) in amorphous solids are studied theoretically for the case of ‘mixed carrier recombination’, when two sets of traps exist in the energy gap, one of them relatively deep and initially filled. The main simplifying assumptions are a strongly non-equilibrium carrier distribution in the active traps and their low occupancy. Simple formulas for TSCs are derived and their accuracy is verified by comparison with the numerical results for exponential trap distribution. Methods of determining the trap distribution and the carrier recombination kinetics from experimental data are considered.