Electron and hole lifetimes in electron-irradiated Si P+-n-n+ diodes

The reverse recovery time and the electron-beam-induced junction current of Si p⁺-n-n⁺ diodes were measured to obtain, independently, n-layer electron and hole lifetimes. At high carrier injection levels, lifetimes of the nonirradiated samples and samples irradiated at electron fluxes of 3×10¹³, 5×10¹³, and 7×10¹³ cm^-2 were found to be 5.7 μm, 670 ns, 410 ns, and 330 ns, respectively. The hole lifetimes were correspondingly found to be 2.6 μs, 72 ns, 51 ns, and 33 ns. These results indicate that the ratio of electron-to-hole lifetimes is about 1 for nonirradiated samples and 7 to 9 for electron-irradiated samples