Effect of generation rate on transient photoconductivity of semi-insulating 4H-SiC

The effect of generation rate on transient photoconductivity of semi-insulating (SI) 4H-SiC is discussed. The rate of generation of electron–hole pairs is dependent on the number of photons incident on the sample material and its absorption and reflection coefficients. The number of photons and their energy is dependent on the radiation power and wavelength of the light source illuminating the material. The results of research, obtained with a specialized simulator, present the influence of changes in the filling of individual defect centres’ levels on changes in conductivity of the test material observed after switching on the photoexcitation. For the purpose of simulations, presented is a versatile model of semiconductor material. It encompasses six point defects that appear in SI 4H-SiC materials the most often. Those defect centres correspond to Z(1/2) recombination centre, deep electron and deep hole traps, nitrogen-related shallow donors of two kinds and a boron-related shallow acceptor. The simulation results can be used to design and determine properties of photoconductive switches.