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Crystalline silicon
About: Crystalline silicon is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 15199 publications have been published within this topic receiving 248410 citations.
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TL;DR: In this article, the authors adopt a statistical mechanical approach toward the optics of textured and inhomogeneous optical sheets and show that the local light intensity in such a medium will tend to be 2 n−2−x times greater than the externally incident light intensity, where n is the local index of refraction in the sheet.
Abstract: We adopt a statistical mechanical approach toward the optics of textured and inhomogeneous optical sheets. As a general rule, the local light intensity in such a medium will tend to be 2 n^{2}(x) times greater than the externally incident light intensity, where n(x) is the local index of refraction in the sheet. This enhancement can contribute toward a 4 n^{2}(x) increase in the effective absorption of indirect-gap semiconductors like crystalline silicon.
844 citations
TL;DR: The detailed balance method for calculating the radiative recombination limit to the performance of solar cells has been extended to include free carrier absorption and Auger recombination in addition to radiative losses.
Abstract: The detailed balance method for calculating the radiative recombination limit to the performance of solar cells has been extended to include free carrier absorption and Auger recombination in addition to radiative losses. This method has been applied to crystalline silicon solar cells where the limiting efficiency is found to be 29.8 percent under AM1.5, based on the measured optical absorption spectrum and published values of the Auger and free carrier absorption coefficients. The silicon is assumed to be textured for maximum benefit from light-trapping effects.
831 citations
01 Sep 1982
TL;DR: In this article, the authors adopt a statistical mechanical approach toward the optics of textured and inhomogeneous optical sheets and show that the local light intensity in such a medium will tend to be 2n/sup 2/(x) times greater than the externally incident light intensity, where n(x) is the local index of refraction in the sheet.
Abstract: The authors adopt a statistical mechanical approach toward the optics of textured and inhomogeneous optical sheets. As a general rule, the local light intensity in such a medium will tend to be 2n/sup 2/(x) times greater than the externally incident light intensity, where n(x) is the local index of refraction in the sheet. This enhancement can contribute toward a 4n/sup 2/(x) increase in the effective absorption of indirect-gap semiconductors like crystalline silicon. Also it may lead to a voltage increase equal to KTlog 4n/sup 2/.
800 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate the successful integration of silicon-based visible light-emitting devices into a standard bipolar microelectronic circuit by exploiting the thermal and chemical stability of porous silicon.
Abstract: MICROELECTRONIC device integration has progressed to the point where complete 'systems-on-a-chip' have been realized1–3. Now that optoelectronics is becoming increasingly important for information and communication technologies, there is a need to develop optoelectronic devices that can be integrated with standard microelectronics. Conventional semiconductor technology is largely based on crystalline silicon, which (being an indirect bandgap semiconductor) is an inefficient light-emitting material. This has stimulated significant effort towards developing silicon-based optoelectronic components and, of the several strategies explored so far4,5, the use of porous silicon appears the most promising; porous silicon produces high-efficiency, room-temperature, visible photoluminescence6, and its material and optical properties have been studied in detail7,8. But the extreme reactivity and fragility of porous silicon have hitherto prevented its integration with conventional silicon processing technology. We have recently shown9,10 that the thermal and chemical stability of porous silicon can be greatly enhanced — while retaining desirable light-emitting and charge-transport properties — by partial oxidation. Here we take advantage of these improvements in material properties to demonstrate the successful integration of silicon-based visible light-emitting devices into a standard bipolar microelectronic circuit.
780 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the injection-dependent carrier recombination for a broad range of dopant concentrations of high-purity $n$-type and $p$)-type silicon wafers passivated with state-of-the-art dielectric layers of aluminum oxide or silicon nitride was studied.
Abstract: An accurate quantitative description of the Auger recombination rate in silicon as a function of the dopant density and the carrier injection level is important to understand the physics of this fundamental mechanism and to predict the physical limits to the performance of silicon based devices. Technological progress has permitted a near suppression of competing recombination mechanisms, both in the bulk of the silicon crystal and at the surfaces. This, coupled with advanced characterization techniques, has led to an improved determination of the Auger recombination rate, which is lower than previously thought. In this contribution we present a systematic study of the injection-dependent carrier recombination for a broad range of dopant concentrations of high-purity $n$-type and $p$-type silicon wafers passivated with state-of-the-art dielectric layers of aluminum oxide or silicon nitride. Based on these measurements, we develop a general parametrization for intrinsic recombination in crystalline silicon at 300 K consistent with the theory of Coulomb-enhanced Auger and radiative recombination. Based on this improved description we are able to analyze physical aspects of the Auger recombination mechanism such as the Coulomb enhancement.
775 citations