Deep Level Transient Spectroscopy

Abstract Electrically active localized states, which give rise to defect levels, affect the electronic properties of semiconductor materials and devices. Defects can be beneficial or detrimental depending on their roles in controlling the dynamics of charge carriers in the materials. For instance, defects that give rise to deep levels help to produce semi‐insulating materials. Yet, defects have also been known to produce undesirable recombination centers detrimental to the performance of optoelectronic devices. The identification and control of defect levels are crucial in materials and electronic device development. Deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) is a powerful technique to characterize the defect structure of semiconductors. It has contributed much to the development of new materials and devices. Several variations of this technique have appeared since its invention, providing major improvements in both sensitivity and resolution as well as a wide range of applications. This technique can be used to characterize defects in both bulk and thin film materials, interface states of metal–insulator structures, as well as interfacial defects in devices such as field‐effect transistors and high electron mobility transistors. This paper introduces the concept underlying the DLTS technique by first describing the classical and conventional rate window method. Two major developments in data analysis using Fourier transform and Laplace transform are also presented to provide a view of the state‐of‐the‐art in DLTS.

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