Auger recombination in silicon at <i>l</i> <i>o</i> <i>w</i> carrier densities

We have discovered a simple chemical preparation method for silicon which virtually eliminates surface recombination. This has enabled us to rapidly survey wafers from many different boules in order to identify those in which bulk (defect assisted) Shockley–Read–Hall recombination happens to be unusually low. Thus, having minimized the two major sources of electron-hole recombination, we find that Auger recombination becomes dominant, even at carrier densities as low as 3×1015/cm3. The Auger coefficient we observe is significantly larger than the value extrapolated down from high density.