Radiation efficiency of heavily doped bulk n-InP semiconductor

TL;DR

This study investigates the recombination processes and radiation efficiency in heavily doped n-InP wafers, revealing high radiative efficiency and the dominance of Auger recombination at room temperature, relevant for scintillator applications.

Contribution

It provides detailed analysis of recombination mechanisms and quantifies the high radiative quantum efficiency in heavily doped n-InP, highlighting its potential for scintillator use.

Findings

Radiative quantum efficiency reaches 97% at 2x10^18 cm^-3 doping.

Photon recycling significantly influences luminescence decay.

Auger recombination dominates non-radiative processes at room temperature.

Abstract

Recombination of minority carriers in heavily doped n-InP wafers has been investigated using spectral and time-resolved photoluminescence at different temperatures. Studies of the transmitted luminescence were enabled by the partial transparency of the samples due to the Moss-Burstein effect. Temporal evolution of the transmitted luminescence shows virtually no effect of surface recombination but is strongly influenced by photon recycling. Temperature dependence of the decay time suggests Auger recombination as the dominant non-radiative process at room temperature. Radiative quantum efficiency has been evaluated at different doping levels and at 2x1018 cm-3 it is found to be as high as 97%, which makes n-InP suitable for scintillator application.