Advanced defect characterization by combining temperature- and injection-dependent lifetime spectroscopy (TDLS and IDLS)

Apart from detecting the presence of electrically active defects, lifetime measurements allow for a direct identification of defects if the injection and temperature dependence is analyzed. Recent studies have revealed that Temperature Dependent Lifetime Spectroscopy (TDLS) and Injection Dependent Lifetime Spectroscopy (IDLS) are complementary: while the energy level Et is more easily gained from TDLS, IDLS is more adequate to determine the capture cross section ratio k = σ_n/σ_p. The present work demonstrates on intentionally metal-contaminated silicon that a complete defect characterization is achievable by combining IDLS and TDLS. Additionally, it is shown for the first time that k and the band half of the defect location can often be determined from TDLS alone if the entire TDLS-curve is modeled.