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Dynamic photoluminescence lifetime imaging for the characterisation of silicon wafers
Author(s) -
Herlufsen Sandra,
Ramspeck Klaus,
Hinken David,
Schmidt Arne,
Müller Jens,
Bothe Karsten,
Schmidt Jan,
Brendel Rolf
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
physica status solidi (rrl) – rapid research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.786
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1862-6270
pISSN - 1862-6254
DOI - 10.1002/pssr.201004426
Subject(s) - wafer , photoluminescence , carrier lifetime , materials science , optoelectronics , silicon , luminescence , excitation , photoluminescence excitation , optics , physics , quantum mechanics
We present a fast and calibration‐free carrier lifetime imaging technique based on photoluminescence (PL) measurements using an InGaAs camera for the examination of crystalline silicon wafers. The carrier lifetime is determined from the time dependent luminescence emission after optical excitation. A ratio, including four PL images acquired at different times during the modulated excitation, is calculated and found to depend only on the camera integration time and the effective carrier lifetime. Therefore, the carrier lifetime is unambiguously determined by this ratio without knowing any additional wafer parameter. We demonstrate the applicability of the dynamic PL technique to multicrystalline silicon wafers. (© 2011 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)