DEPENDENCE OF MINORITY-CARRIER RECOMBINATION LIFETIME ON SURFACE MICROROUGHNESS IN SILICON-WAFERS

The influence of silicon surface microroughness on the minority-carrie r recombination life-time has been studied with a laser/microwave phot oconductance technique. By means of an algorithm for separating the su rface and bulk components. it has been shown that the microroughness c onsiderably affects the surface recombination velocity, in turn the li fetime, of silicon wafers at elevated temperatures. It is found that t he smoother results in the higher lifetime.