Minority carrier lifetime measurements: An electrical passivation study

The measurement of minority carrier lifetime of silicon in chemical passivation studies is often taken with the wafer in solution. We show that variations in the optical constant and inductive coupling to the wafer, as well as the presence of the liquid solution, will lead to discrepancies in the measured lifetime of the wafers. Continued deterioration of lifetime is observed when wafers are in the passivation solution and is presumably due to oxygen in the bag. N-type silicon (100) wafers appear to have a limit of ten trials repeated use, after which carrier lifetime decreases, likely caused by surface degradation.