Beschrijving

Abstract:This dissertation presents a quantitative study of the physical mechanisms underlying the anomolously large recombination current experimentally observed in heavily doped regions of silicon pn-junction solar cells and bipolar transistors. The study includes a comparison of theoretical predictions with a variety of experimental observations in heavily doped silicon and silicon devices.A major conclusion is that the simplest physical model that adequately describes the heavily doped regions must include Fermi- Dirac statistics, a phenomenological excess intrinsic carrier density (or deficit impurity concentration), Auger recombination in the bulk, and recombination at the surface. These mechanisms are incorporated in a first-order model useful in the design of silicon pn-junction solar cells. The accuracy of the first-order model is supported by comparing its results with the results of more detailed models and of a numerical analysis of the problem. Experimental data are presented that are consistent with the predictions of the first-order model and of the numerical solution.Dissertation Discovery Company and University of Florida are dedicated to making scholarly works more discoverable and accessible throughout the world. This dissertation, \