Relationships between the nonradiative multiphonon carrier‐capture properties of deep charged and neutral centres in semiconductors

On the basis of a certain set of empirical trap‐structure parameters, an analytical description is given of nonradiative multiphonon capture and ejection processes (Shockley‐Read processes) occurring at deep traps in direct and indirect semiconductors. The mechanism‐specific connections between the capture properties of charged and neutral centres are represented in terms of suitably defined temperature‐averaged Sommerfeld factors. These factors are, within the approximation of an isotropic effective free‐carrier mass, calculated explicitly both for attractive and repulsive centres.