Minority carrier diffusion length in liquid epitaxial GaP

Using a Schottky diode photocurrent technique, investigations have been made of the room temperature value of minority carrier diffusion length in liquid epitaxial GaP grown on both (111) and (100) oriented pulled GaP substrates. Results are presented for undoped layers and layers doped separately with S, S and N, Te, Zn, and Zn and O, to cover a range of impurity concentration in the GaP. The measured values of minority carrier diffusion length are found to depend on the concentration of the dominant impurity and, for the undoped and Zn doped layers, also on the growth orientation of the substrate. From the dependence of the minority carrier diffusion length on majority carrier concentration we infer the dominant room temperature recombination process in the layers. In our undoped layers this process is believed to correspond to recombination via residual Si substituted on P sites. In Te, S, Zn, and Zn, O doped layers the dominant recombination mechanism can be attributed to a non-radiative band-band Auger process, although in the case of the Zn, O doped layers a competing recombination process is observed which is believed to correspond to recombination via centres formed by unpaired O and Zn defects. The lifetime for this competing process is predicted to be sensitive to annealing.