Evolution of surface recombination property of silicon wafers during laser irradiation by differential photocarrier radiometry

Abstract

Understanding the surface recombination property of semiconductor materials is beneficial for improving the performance of optoelectronic devices. In this paper, differential photocarrier radiometry (PCR) is carried out to investigate the evolution of the surface recombination velocities of silicon wafers induced by laser irradiation. The PCR signal and the surface recombination velocities were found to be strongly dependent on the quality of the wafer surface and the duration of laser irradiation. The native oxide surface was more susceptible to laser irradiation than the Al2O3 passivated surface due to more surface defects being annealed. A surface-defect annealing model was used to explain the transient behavior of the PCR signal and the surface recombination velocity.