Recombination of Injected Carriers at Dislocation Edges in Semiconductors

Abstract

The boundary conditions for carrier recombination at a lineage boundary in a semiconductor in the presence of a constant electric field are derived from kinetic considerations. A nonrecombination probability, or "transmission coefficient" $T$ for a single charge carrier is assumed initially, and "recombination velocities" at the lineage boundary are expressed in terms of this quantity. A simple experiment to determine the transmission coefficient is suggested. The relationship between the transmission coefficient and the cross section for recombination is investigated, and a relationship derived which permits one to calculate the actual recombination cross section for a single dislocation, the density of dislocations in the lineage boundary having been experimentally determined.