Relaxation of silicon non-equilibrium depletion with majority charge carriers in strong electric fields, its mechanisms and ways to damp it

Abstract

This overview deals with original works of authors as well as with works by native and foreign authors, which are devoted to this or close topics. It is written with account of the modern state of the problem, to solve which a great amount of successful work was made by Academician of NAS of Ukraine O.V. Snitko. Considered in this paper are the essence of the phenomenon of non-equilibrium depletion with majority charge carriers that takes place in the field effect in silicon and a set of new phenomena that were revealed by the authors when investigating this effect. Besides, analyzed in detail are the processes of acceleration inherent to relaxation of the non-equilibrium depletion in strong electric fields (Es = 3·10³ – 5·10⁵ V/cm) at silicon surface being in various physical-and-chemical states. It is noted that the Franz-Keldysh or Frenkel effects for local centers play the main role in acceleration of relaxation with growing Es at the silicon surface. In this case, an essential role belongs to electron-phonon interaction of the charge carrier at the local center with continuum phonons around this center.