Trap-assisted recombination in semiconductors: application to group III gallium nitride material and junctions

An improved model for trap-assisted recombination taking into account Shockley-Read-Hall recombination, trap-assisted Auger (TAA) recombination and tunnelling due to the electric field has been developed. To our knowledge, this is the most general model for trap-assisted recombination reported in the literature. The model describes the weak temperature dependence of the recombination rate for the bulk, but the strong temperature dependence of the recombination rate for the depletion region. The TAA process contributes weakly to the net recombination unless the doping is very heavy. However, it contributes heavily to recombination in the junction depletion region even at relatively lower doping levels. The calculated minority-carrier lifetime and diffusion length closely correspond to the average experimental data.