Quantitative Recombination And Transport Properties In Silicon From Dynamic Luminescence

Harmonically modulated luminescence combines the advantages of highly sensitive luminescence metrology with an immediate dynamic access to carrier lifetime in semiconductors at a minimum of required a priori information. The present work covers theoretical, conceptual, and experimental advances of the harmonically modulated luminescence technique. Theoretical constraints of dynamic carrier lifetime techniques are rigorously elaborated, including the proof of their differential nature and their characteristics at nonuniform spatial distributions of recombination rate. The pathway toward a unified, reliable, and versatile harmonically modulated carrier lifetime metrology is delineated - covering the entire solar cell production chain from bare ingots to finished solar cells. Accurate access to miscellaneous relevant recombination and transport properties via harmonically modulated luminescence is demonstrated and experimentally validated, embracing injection-dependent carrier lifetimes at extremely low injection conditions, a spatially resolved carrier lifetime calibration of luminescence images, and accurate approaches to both net dopant concentration and minority carrier mobility.

The ability to provide highly accurate performance evaluations of photovoltaic devices has never been more important given the recent, and anticipated, progress in photovoltaics. The lowest possible measurement uncertainties are required for reliably assessing technological advances and reducing investment uncertainty. As the further reduction of these uncertainties within conventional solar cell measurements is often hindered by the measurement setups themselves, innovative approaches in the development of new measurement facilities are vital. This thesis addresses such demand by applying ultrashort laser pulses for highly accurate solar cell characterization. Based on a detailed investigation of pulse-solar cell interaction, a setup for spectral responsivity measurements is developed. This cutting-edge measurement setup substantially outperforms current state-of-the-art facilities in terms of measurement accuracy. Furthermore, a novel measurement approach is presented that takes advantage of spectrally shaped supercontinuum radiation. Imitating standard solar spectra with the shaped supercontinuum radiation promises a quicker and more accurate measurement of the solar cell s short circuit current than is presently possible using conventional methods.

The field of charge conduction in disordered materials is a rapidly evolving area owing to current and potential applications of these materials in various electronic devices This text aims to cover conduction in disordered solids from fundamental physical principles and theories, through practical material development with an emphasis on applications in all areas of electronic materials. International group of contributors Presents basic physical concepts developed in this field in recent years in a uniform manner Brings up-to-date, in a one-stop source, a key evolving area in the field of electronic materials