Exact Equivalent Circuit Model for Steady-State Characterization of Semiconductor Devices with Multiple-Energy-Level Recombination Centers

One-dimensional steady-state characteristics of a two-terminal semiconductor device is modeled by an exact transmission-line circuit model. This is generalized to include Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) recombination centers with an arbitrary number of energy levels. It is then applied to a study of the double-acceptor zinc centers in silicon p-n junction diodes. The exact internal characteristics of the diodes; such as the spatial variation of carrier densities, electric field, net charge density, recombination rate, and current densities; are obtained numerically from the circuit model and studied at different injection levels. The zinc population and the relative importance of recombination at each of the two zinc energy levels is interpreted by the Sah-Shockley theory for multiple-energy-level SRH centers.