Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies
Photons absorbed in silicon produce electron–hole pairs, which can cause impact ionization and quantum yield larger than one. Reliable determination of quantum yield at low charge-carrier energies (<4 eV) has been challenging because photon losses due to reflectance and charge-carrier losses due...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
AIP Publishing LLC
2023-08-01
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| Series: | AIP Advances |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0164405 |
| _version_ | 1797689653325725696 |
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| author | Mikhail Korpusenko Anna Vaskuri Farshid Manoocheri Erkki Ikonen |
| author_facet | Mikhail Korpusenko Anna Vaskuri Farshid Manoocheri Erkki Ikonen |
| author_sort | Mikhail Korpusenko |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Photons absorbed in silicon produce electron–hole pairs, which can cause impact ionization and quantum yield larger than one. Reliable determination of quantum yield at low charge-carrier energies (<4 eV) has been challenging because photon losses due to reflectance and charge-carrier losses due to recombination affect the resulting photocurrent. Here, we present how the measurement of this fundamental characteristic of silicon crystals can be improved in the charge-carrier energy range of 1.6–4 eV by using a predictable quantum efficient detector based on induced junction photodiodes optimized for photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. The measured quantum yield values are compared with the results of theoretical calculations, revealing increased impact-ionization probabilities at 2.25 and 3.23 eV on the top of a smooth background curve calculated by a model based on free charge carriers in the silicon lattice. For the results at the lowest energies, both data and an asymptotic extrapolation model suggest that quantum yield exceeds unity by ∼10−4 at 1.6 eV corresponding to a photon wavelength of 450 nm. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:48:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6d0d92993119447088bcb1fcbd9f7ad4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2158-3226 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T01:48:21Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | AIP Publishing LLC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AIP Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-6d0d92993119447088bcb1fcbd9f7ad42023-09-08T16:03:30ZengAIP Publishing LLCAIP Advances2158-32262023-08-01138085119085119-410.1063/5.0164405Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energiesMikhail Korpusenko0Anna Vaskuri1Farshid Manoocheri2Erkki Ikonen3Metrology Research Institute, Aalto University, Uusimaa, 02150 Espoo, FinlandMetrology Research Institute, Aalto University, Uusimaa, 02150 Espoo, FinlandMetrology Research Institute, Aalto University, Uusimaa, 02150 Espoo, FinlandMetrology Research Institute, Aalto University, Uusimaa, 02150 Espoo, FinlandPhotons absorbed in silicon produce electron–hole pairs, which can cause impact ionization and quantum yield larger than one. Reliable determination of quantum yield at low charge-carrier energies (<4 eV) has been challenging because photon losses due to reflectance and charge-carrier losses due to recombination affect the resulting photocurrent. Here, we present how the measurement of this fundamental characteristic of silicon crystals can be improved in the charge-carrier energy range of 1.6–4 eV by using a predictable quantum efficient detector based on induced junction photodiodes optimized for photon-to-electron conversion efficiency. The measured quantum yield values are compared with the results of theoretical calculations, revealing increased impact-ionization probabilities at 2.25 and 3.23 eV on the top of a smooth background curve calculated by a model based on free charge carriers in the silicon lattice. For the results at the lowest energies, both data and an asymptotic extrapolation model suggest that quantum yield exceeds unity by ∼10−4 at 1.6 eV corresponding to a photon wavelength of 450 nm.http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0164405 |
| spellingShingle | Mikhail Korpusenko Anna Vaskuri Farshid Manoocheri Erkki Ikonen Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies AIP Advances |
| title | Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies |
| title_full | Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies |
| title_fullStr | Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies |
| title_short | Impact ionization in silicon at low charge-carrier energies |
| title_sort | impact ionization in silicon at low charge carrier energies |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/5.0164405 |
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