Study of the Natural Auger Suppression Mechanism in Heterostructures through Heteroboundary Engineering

• Published in: The journal of physical chemistry. A, Molecules, spectroscopy, kinetics, environment, & general theory Vol. 121; no. 40; pp. 7745 - 7750
• Main Authors: Slonopas, Andre, Tomkinson, David
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 12.10.2017
• ISSN: 1089-5639; 1520-5215
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.7b07727

Planar superlattice devices revolutionized our approach to solid-state technology by reducing the Shockley–Read–Hall losses to negligible levels. Despite these achievements, significant efficiency losses are found in current devices presumably caused by the Auger recombinations. This work present the theoretical considerations of the Auger recombination suppression through heterostructure engineering. It is found that Auger recombinations are suppressed through the heterobarrier-carrier interactions. It is shown that a minima in Auger recombinations exists in type-II and III heterostructures, and can be reached through proper conduction and valence band alignments. Furthermore, the careful consideration of the heterostructure enables natural Auger suppression for high operating temperatures. Dark current based on the optimized heterostructure was computed and found to be over an order of magnitude below the currently reported measurements for the superlattice and QD devices. This research provides crucial information about the underlying physics behind the Auger recombination, enabling future superlattice and quantum dot device optimization.