An isolated Al-poly Si-(p)Si-(n+)Si switching device

A new MISS switching device structure was designed and fabricated, which consists of Al/poly Si/p/n⁺/p-Si layers and is isolated by diffusing n-well to the buried n⁺ layer.The switching voltage increases with increasing junction area of the poly-Si junction and the n⁺p junction, due to surface recombination current in the emitter-base junction, respectively. The holding voltage is kept nearly constant of 0.9 V for the 886 Å poly Si devices.     

Voltage dependence of the differential capacitance of a p +-n junction

The dependences of the differential capacitance and current of a p ⁺-n junction with a uniformly doped n region on the voltage in the junction region are calculated. The p ⁺-n junction capacitance controls the charge change in the junction region taking into account a change in the electric field of the quasi-neutral n region and a change in its bipolar drift mobility with increasing excess charge-carrier concentration. It is shown that the change in the sign of the p ⁺-n junction capacitance with increasing injection level is caused by a decrease in the bipolar drift mobility as the electron-hole pair concentration in the n region increases. It is shown that the p ⁺-n junction capacitance decreases with increasing reverse voltage and tends to a constant positive value.     

Influence of the electron-hole equilibrium shift on transition-metal diffusion in GaAs

Diffusion of impurities of transition metals Fe, Cu, and Cr in heavily doped p ⁺-, n ⁺-, and intrinsic (at diffusion temperature) GaAs is studied. A technique in which impurity diffuses into GaAs-based structures with heavily doped layers (p ⁺-n or n ⁺-n) was used. It is shown that the impurity diffusivity values in p ⁺-GaAs and n ⁺-GaAs are significantly higher and lower, respectively, than for i-GaAs. The results obtained are discussed taking into account the effect of the electron-hole equilibrium shift in semiconductors on the diffusion of impurities migrating according to the dissociative mechanism. The interstitial-component concentration for Fe, Cu, and Cr impurities in GaAs was determined at the diffusion temperature.     

Drift-diffusion theory of symmetrical double-junction diodes

Using numerical methods, we have calculated the current-voltage characteristics, energy contours and carrier distributions of a symmetrical double junction diode (n⁺nn⁺ and n⁺pn⁺). It is found that the I-V characteristics at low currents and voltages depend greatly on the doping concentration of the base region; at hihg currents, they do not. In that regime, the characteristics bunch together, and can be approximated with remarkable fidelity by the Mott-Gurney law for space-charge controlled conduction in solids. Characteristics are presented for different impurity densities and base widths.     

Electrical properties of the InP/InGaAs pnp heterostructure-emitter bipolar transistor

The dc performances of an InP/InGaAs pnp heterostructure-emitter bipolar transistor are investigated by theoretical analysis and experimental results. Though the valence band discontinuity at the InP/InGaAs heterojunction is relatively large, the addition of a heavily-doped as well as thin p ⁺-InGaAs emitter layer between p-InP confinement and n ⁺-InGaAs base layers effectively eliminates the potential spike at emitter-base junction and simultaneously lowers the emitter-collector offset voltage and increases the potential barrier for electrons. Experimentally, a high current gain of 88 and a low offset voltage of 54 mV have been achieved. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Junction potentials of strongly illuminated n+ - p - p+ solar cells

The low-junction (LHJ) model is applied to an n⁺ - p - p⁺ solar cell having finite dimensions, in order to investigate its performance under intense illumination. Ambipolar transport equations are solved in the three sections of the cell using appropriate boundary conditions. Expressions for junction currents are derived, and the junction potentials under open-circuit conditions are computed by the Newton-Raphson method.The theory presented here includes the effects of high level injection. The generalized current density equations which are derived here for an n⁺ - p - p⁺ device are shown to reduce to the ideal Shockley diode equation with appropriate modifications. The effects of p - p⁺ low-high junction on the open-circuit voltage of the cell are explained. The theoretical results of this paper are consistent with the experimental results of others.     

C–V index of hyperabrupt p-n junctions

C–V index n for hyperabrupt p⁺-n junctions with exponentially retrograded n-region has been computed numerically for different values of parameters characterizing the impurity profile and the results have been plotted graphically. Although n is found to vary with the bias across the junction for any given impurity distribution, the maximum value nmax of n is determined only by the ratio of the background concentration to the crossover concentration in the retrograded region. By making this ratio R₀ smaller and smaller, values of n substantially larger than unity can be obtained. Practical considerations, however, limit the maximum value of n to about 10. An empirical relation expressing nmax as a function of the ratio R₀ has been obtained. Calculated results are compared with the values of n measured on hyperabrupt junctions fabricated by a double diffusion process.     

Methods for the doping of silicon layers in growth by sublimation MBE

Epitaxial layers doped with various impurities were grown by sublimation MBE on Si (100) substrates. Doping with phosphorus was controlled at electron densities ranging from 2×10¹³ to 10¹⁹ cm^?3. A high dopant concentration of ～10²⁰ cm^?3 was obtained from the evaporation of partly molten Si sources. It shown that the type and concentration of an impurity in the sublimation MBE process can be controlled by the fabrication of multilayer p ⁺?n ⁺ structures.     

Breakdown and capacitance properties of hyperabrupt epitaxial Schottky barrier diodes

An analysis of the breakdown and capacitance properties of punch-through hyperabrupt epitaxial Schottky barrier diodes has been carried out. Results are given for the dependence of breakdown voltage of such a device on surface concentration and epitaxial layer thickness. Design curves are given for epitaxial hyperabrupt schottky varactor diodes. The design procedure yields an optimal impurity profile in which just-punch-through occurs at the highest voltage of operation. This gives a maximum dynamic range of operation still keeping the series resistance to a minimum. A corrected boundary condition to determine the profile constants associated with an n/n⁺ (high/low) junction is also given.     

High-voltage planar junction with a field-limiting ring

A twodimensional Poisson equation is solved as part of a program to improve breakdown characteristics of a planar p-n junction by using a field limiting ring. The influences of n^? concentration and n^? layer width of p⁺-n^?-n⁺ diode are investigated. Higher n^? concentration and smaller n^? width make optimum distance between anode and field limiting ring smaller. Breakdown voltages predicted by optimising method reported agree well with the experimental results.     

Special features of the sublimational molecular-beam epitaxy of Si and its potentialities for growing Si:Er/Si structures

The concentration of charge carriers and their Hall mobility in Si:Er/Si layers grown by sublimational molecular-beam epitaxy were investigated as functions of temperature in the range of 300–77 K. No electric activity of Er-containing luminescent centers was observed. The feasibility of precise control over impurity profiles in growing the p ⁺-n-n ⁺ electroluminescent structures is demonstrated.     

Polycrystalline silicon solar cells on metallurgical silicon substrates

The use of a polycrystalline silicon p-n junction structure deposited on low-cost substrates is a promising approach for the fabrication of low-cost solar cells. Metallurgical-grade silicon, with a purity of about 98% and a cost of about $1/kg, was cast into plates in a boron nitride container and used as substrates for the deposition of solar cell structures. The substrates were polycrystalline with millimeter size crystallites. Solar cells of the configurations n>⁺-silicon/p-silicon/metallurgical silicon and n⁺-silicon/p⁺-silicon/metallurgical silicon were prepared by the thermal decomposition of silane and the thermal reduction of trichlorosilane containing appropriate dopants. The AMO efficiencies of n⁺-silicon/p-silicon/metallurgical silicon solar cells were up to 2.8% (with no anti-reflection coatings) and were limited by the grain boundaries in the p-layer. The grain boundary effects were reduced by increasing the dopant concentration in the p-layer, and AMO efficiencies of about 3.5% were obtained from n⁺-silicon/p⁺-silicon/metallurgi silicon solar cells.     

Anomalous dependences of the diode barrier capacitance on bias voltage and temperature

Capacitances of a Schottky barrier and p ⁺-n junction whose n-type regions contain shallow donors and deep acceptors with levels in the upper part of the energy gap have been calculated. The capacitance was represented as two series capacitances of the near-contact region containing only donor impurity ions and of the intermediate layer at the interface between the space-charge region and the diode base, with account of the free-carrier concentration and its dependence on the potential. It was found that the capacitance of the intermediate layer heavily depends on temperature and may increase with the bias voltage. The calculated capacitancevoltage characteristics of the barrier capacitance are in agreement with experimental data and even describe the nonmonotonic dependences of the capacitance on the bias voltage.     

Quenched-in centers in silicon p+n junctions

Silicon p⁺n junctions heat treated at high temperatures (1200°C) for a long time (2–20 hr) and then quenched to room temperatures or below shows two deep donor levels (E_C?264meV andE_C?542meV) in the n-type side of the junction depletion layer which appear to originate from the same imperfection center. The concentration of these levels ranges from 10¹³ to 10¹⁴ cm^?3. The junction leakage current comes from carrier generation at the deeper level in the depletion region. Phosphorus gettering was found ineffective in reducing the concentration of these quenched-in levels, but they are annealed out by very slow cooling (25°C/hr to 650°C then quench to room temperatures). The thermal emission and capture rates of electrons and holes at these levels are measured as a function of temperature and electric field by the junction high frequency capacitance and d.c. leakage current transient techniques. It is demonstrated that the detailed balance relationship does not hold. The origin of this double donor center is yet to be identified.     

On the forward current-voltage characteristics of p+-n-n+ (n+-p-p+) epitaxial diodes

The forward-biased current-voltage characteristics of p⁺-n-n⁺ and n⁺-p-p⁺ epitaxial diodes are derived theoretically. Effects of the energy-gap shrinkage, the high-low junction built-in voltage, the high-level injection, and the minority-carrier life time on the forward-biased current-voltage characteristics are included. Good agreements between the theoretically derived results and the experimental data of Dutton et al. are obtained. The developed theory predicts that the leakage of the high-low junction is dominated by the recombination of minority carriers in the highly doped substrate, not by the recombination of minority carriers in the high-low space charge region, which is opposite to the previous prediction of Dutton et al.     

The open-circuit voltage of back-surface-field (BSF) p-n junction solar cells in concentrated sunlight

Simple analytical expressions for the open-circuit voltage of the n⁺?p?p⁺ and p⁺?n?n⁺ BSF solar cells, which are valid for both the low- and high-levels of optical illumination, are derived. Based on the principle of superposition the open-circuit voltage of both the n⁺?p?p⁺ and p⁺?n?n⁺ solar cells are expressed in terms of the short-circuit current and the known saturated dark current. Effects of the high-low junction doping, the energy-gap shrinkage, and the dimensions of the BSF solar cells on the open-circuit voltage are included. The numerical results of the derived expressions are found to be in good agreement with the exact numerical analysis of Fossum et al. The optimal design considerations based on the known characteristics of the open-circuit voltage are also discussed.     

Breakdown in concentration profile diodes

Reverse breakdown capability or a concentration profiled p⁺ n n⁺ diode depends upon the surface concentration at the contra and the edge region. To study the effect of various concentration profiles on the breakdown capability, the electric field distribution in the semiconductor and the dielectric is theoretically computed. These theoretical computations are compared with the experimentally determined values. Extremely high breakdown voltages have been achieved in plane p⁺ n n⁺ junctions using this technique. The desired concentration profiles are achieved using spin-on sources for boron diffusion. These sources require a curing time, alter preparation, to yield reproducible uniform impurity eurfece concentration. To study the stj-ucturoJ changes taking place in the liquid phase during the curing time, IR spectra of the liquid spin-on source are presented. It is concluded that the interaction between B-O and Si-OH in the liquid phase is responsible for achieving uniform surface concentration, Further, if concentration profiling is used for reducing the surface electric field, one can eliminate the mechanical bevelling or chemical etching step.     

Potential and limitations of Schottky-barrier barritt devices

Computer simulation of various Schottky-barrier structures is carried out to investigate the large-signal properties of these devices. Comparison between Schottky-barrier devices and their p-n junction counterparts are also made to evaluate the potential and limitations of these devices and to explain the difference in performance between them. It is shown that among various Schottky-barrier structures, the M-n-i-p⁺ structure is the most powerful one and the M-n-p-p⁺ device is the most efficient one. Furthermore, Schottky-barrier devices with low barrier heights for minority carriers (less than 0.2 eV) are capable of producing power levels close to the generated power of p-n junction devices. Investigation of the temperature dependence of the large-signal performance of these devices shows that Schottky barriers are more sensitive and exhibit their optimum performance close to room temperature value. At low temperature, the output power is limited by the low minority carrier injection, whereas at high temperature the limitation is due to the velocity-modulation losses in the injection and low-field regions of the device.     

The dipole model of narrowing of the energy gap between the Hubbard bands in slightly compensated semiconductors

A model of the narrowing of the energy gap between the Hubbard bands (the A ⁰ and A ⁺ bands for acceptors and the D ⁰ and D ^? bands for donors) with increasing concentration of hydrogen-like dopants at low concentrations of the compensating impurity is suggested. The width of the impurity bands is assumed to be small compared to the gap between them. It is taken into account that the local Coulomb interaction between the ions of an electric dipole formed as a result of transition of a hole (electron) between two electrically neutral dopant atoms induces a decrease in the band gap. The calculated thermal activation energies of hopping transitions of holes (electrons) between the impurity bands are in agreement with the experimental data for slightly compensated p-Si:B, p-Ge:Ga, and n-Ge:Sb crystals.