Patrik Ščajev

Fast and slow carrier recombination transients in highly excited 4H– and 3C–SiC crystals at room temperature

Nonequilibrium carrier recombination in highly excited epitaxial layers of 4H–SiC and free standing 3C–SiC was analyzed numerically and studied experimentally by the time-resolved free carrier absorption (FCA) technique. The measurement setup combined interband carrier excitation by a picosecond laser pulse and probing of carrier dynamics at excess carrier densities in the ΔN=1017–1020 cm−3 range by optically or electronically delayed probe pulses, thus providing temporal resolution of 10 ps and 10 ns, respectively. FCA decay kinetics at different excitation levels and subsequent numerical modeling were used to determine the bulk lifetime, surface recombination velocity, and bimolecular (B) and Auger recombination (C) coefficients at 300 K. Bulk lifetimes of ∼800 ns and ∼65 ns were determined in 4H and 3C epitaxial layers, respectively. The numerical fitting of FCA kinetics in the 4H layer provided values of B=(1.2±0.4)×10−12 cm3/s and C=(7±4)×10−31 cm6/s at lower excitations while the Auger coefficient d...

Diffusion-limited nonradiative recombination at extended defects in hydride vapor phase epitaxy GaN layers

Time-resolved free-carrier absorption and transient grating techniques were applied to determine carrier lifetimes and diffusion coefficients in a set of hydride vapor phase epitaxy GaN layers of various thickness (from 10 to 145 μm). A linear increase in nonradiative carrier lifetime in 80–800 K range found to be in a correlation with decrease of the bipolar carrier diffusion coefficient. This correlation confirmed that recombination rate is governed by carrier diffusive flow to the grain boundaries of columnar defects. A model of diffusion-governed nonradiative lifetime was proposed for fitting the measured lifetime values in the layers of different thickness as well as lifetime dependence on temperature or threading dislocation density.

Anisotropy of free-carrier absorption and diffusivity in m-plane GaN

Polarization-dependent free-carrier absorption (FCA) in bulk m-plane GaN at 1053 nm revealed approximately 6 times stronger hole-related absorption for E⊥c than for E||c probe polarization both at low and high carrier injection levels. In contrast, FCA at 527 nm was found isotropic at low injection levels due to electron resonant transitions between the upper and lower conduction bands, whereas the anisotropic impact of holes was present only at high injection levels by temporarily blocking electron transitions. Carrier transport was also found to be anisotropic under two-photon excitation, with a ratio of 1.17 for diffusivity perpendicular and parallel to the c-axis.

A diffraction-based technique for determination of interband absorption coefficients in bulk 3C-, 4H- and 6H-SiC crystals

Knowledge of absorption coefficient values for wavelengths above the bandgap and the injected carrier density profile is an important issue for analysis of carrier dynamics in highly excited semiconductors, e.g. for evaluation of the carrier density in photoexcited layer, density-dependent recombination rate and diffusivity. In this work we present a novel way for determining the interband absorption coefficient α for SiC crystals in a wide temperature range. The proposed method is based on recording of a transient free carrier grating in a bulk semiconductor by strongly absorbed light and measurements of probe beam diffraction efficiencies on the grating for the Bragg and symmetric anti-Bragg directions. The method was applied for 3C-, 6H-, 4H-SiC polytypes at 351 nm wavelength and revealed 3 to 10-fold increase in the interband absorption coefficients in the 80–800 K temperature range. Increase in absorption coefficients with temperature was simulated by bandgap shrinkage and increase in phonon density. A good agreement of the determined α values with a priori known room-temperature data verified validation of this technique.

Application of a time-resolved four-wave mixing technique for the determination of thermal properties of 4H-SiC crystals

We applied a time-resolved four-wave mixing technique for the determination of thermal diffusivity, sound velocity, thermo-optic and photoelastic coefficients in heavily doped n-type and p-type 4H–SiC substrates. Spatial modulation of thermal properties was achieved by intraband carrier excitation using a light-interference pattern at 1064 nm and subsequent carrier thermalization. Decay of the light-induced thermal grating at its various periods and sample temperatures was monitored by diffraction of a delayed probe pulse at 532 nm wavelength. The grating decay kinetics provided the thermal diffusivity DT = 0.94 cm2 s−1, thermo-optic coefficient dn/dT = 3.6 × 10−5 K−1 and effective photoelastic constant at 300 K. Temperature dependences of dn/dT and thermal expansion almost matched that of the heat capacity, Cp(T), and correlated well with the Eg(T) dependence.

Carrier dynamics and photoelectrical parameters in highly compensated sublimation grown 3C-SiC layers studied by time-resolved nonlinear optical techniques

Excess carrier dynamics in compensated n-type and p-type 3C-SiC layers grown by sublimation epitaxy and doped with nitrogen and aluminum has been studied using time-resolved optical pump-probe techniques. We show that carrier recombination pathway in both layers is strongly affected by the optical recharge of compensating aluminum impurities (Al−) through trapping of holes and their thermal release, providing recovery to the initial state within 0.1 ms to 10 ns in the 80–300 K range. The dynamics of aluminum charge states and hole density were also analysed using numerical modelling, which provided a hole capture cross-section for aluminum sh(Al) = (1.0 ± 0.3)×10−15 cm−2 and its activation energy Ea(Al) = (176 ± 4) meV in both layers. Free carrier lifetimes of 0.5 and 2 ns (for the p- and n-type layer, respectively) were measured at the injected carrier densities (ΔN0) well above that of Al. We also observed a strong impact of the compensating Al impurities on carrier diffusivity at room temperature, which dropped to negligible values of D < 0.1 cm2 s−1 at injection levels below the aluminum trap density (ΔN0 < [Al−]eq) and reached its typical value of D = 2 cm2 s−1 only at ΔN0 ≥ 1019 cm−3.

Photo-electrical and transport properties of hydrothermal ZnO

We performed the studies of optical, photoelectric, and transport properties of a hydrothermal bulk n-type ZnO crystal by using the contactless optical techniques: photoluminescence, light-induced transient grating, and differential reflectivity. Optical studies revealed bound exciton and defect-related transitions between the donor states (at ∼60 meV and ∼240 meV below the conduction band) and the deep acceptor states (at 0.52 eV above the valence band). The acceptor state was ascribed to VZn, and its thermal activation energy of 0.43 eV was determined. A low value of carrier diffusion coefficient (∼0.1 cm2/s) at low excitations and temperatures up to 800 K was attributed to impact the recharged deep acceptors. Electron and hole mobilities of 140 and ∼80 cm2/Vs, correspondently, were determined at room temperature. The decrease of carrier lifetime with excitation was ascribed to increasing rate of radiative recombination at low temperatures and nonradiative recombination above the room temperature.

Impact of Diffusivity to Carrier Recombination Rate in Nitride Semiconductors: From Bulk GaN to (In,Ga)N Quantum Wells

We combined light induced transient grating and free carrier absorption techniques to investigate temporal and spatial carrier dynamics in nitrides. Inverse correlation of diffusivity and nonradiative recombination rate in GaN epilayers was ascribed to carrier diffusive flow to the internal boundaries of hexagonal grains and recombination on dislocations there, while the similar dependence in InGaN quantum wells (QWs) was a consequence of carrier delocalization caused either by carrier injection or thermal escape. Numerical modeling of recombination rates in light emitting diode structures with In content up to 13% revealed increasing with excitation nonradiative recombination rate which is a consequence of higher overall carrier mobility at higher densities. We propose the injection-enhanced in-plane diffusivity as the most probable mechanism explaining the increase of non-radiative losses in high power light emitting diodes (LEDs).

Recombination and diffusion processes in polar and nonpolar bulk GaN investigated by time-resolved photoluminescence and nonlinear optical techniques

Optically-injected carrier dynamics were investigated in bulk polar and nonpolar GaN in 1015-to-1020 cm-3 carrier density range, exploring single- and two-photon photoexcitation conditions. The excitation decay and recombination rates were monitored by time-resolved photoluminescence and free-carrier absorption techniques, while diffusivity was investigated by light-diffraction on transient grating technique. Carrier dynamics in c- and m-plane thick freestanding HVPE GaN revealed nearly linear increase of carrier lifetime with temperature in the 80 - 800 K range whereas the bipolar carrier diffusivity decreased with temperature. This feature suggests that the measured long lifetime values of 40-50 ns at RT result from diffusion-governed carrier flow to interface defects at GaN hexagons, which act as centers of nonradiative recombination. The fast PL transients under carrier injection to submicrometer thick layer were fitted by using the determined diffusivity and lifetime values and revealed a strong impact of vertical carrier diffusion, surface recombination, and reabsorption processes. Radiative and nonradiative emission rates were analyzed by various optical techniques to discriminate contribution of excitons and free carriers at various temperatures and injected carrier densities.

Excitation-dependent carrier lifetime and diffusion length in bulk CdTe determined by time-resolved optical pump-probe techniques

We applied time-resolved pump-probe spectroscopy based on free carrier absorption and light diffraction on a transient grating for direct measurements of the carrier lifetime and diffusion coefficient D in high-resistivity single crystal CdTe (codoped with In and Er). The bulk carrier lifetime τ decreased from 670 ± 50 ns to 60 ± 10 ns with increase of excess carrier density N from 1016 to 5 × 1018 cm−3 due to the excitation-dependent radiative recombination rate. In this N range, the carrier diffusion length dropped from 14 μm to 6 μm due to lifetime decrease. Modeling of in-depth (axial) and in-plane (lateral) carrier diffusion provided the value of surface recombination velocity S = 6 × 105 cm/s for the untreated surface. At even higher excitations, in the 1019–3 × 1020 cm−3 density range, D increase from 5 to 20 cm2/s due to carrier degeneracy was observed.