Auger coefficients for highly doped and highly excited silicon

The recombination kinetics in highly doped p- and n-type silicon has been investigated at 77, 300, and 400 K through the radiative band-to-band recombination. The minority-carrier lifetime depends quadratically on the doping concentration as expected for Auger recombination. The Auger coefficients at 300 K for p- and n-type silicon are found to be Cp=9.9×10−32 cm6 s−1 and Cn=2.8×10−31 cm6 s−1. They are nearly independent of temperature in the range investigated. The Auger coefficient in highly excited pure silicon at 4.2 K (electron-hole drops) is essentially the same as in highly doped silicon.