Method of judging carrier lifetime in semiconductor devices

A method for judging whether a group of semiconductor devices have sufficiently short carrier lifetimes to make them suitable for use in high speed electronic circuitry. A determination is made as to the satisfactory carrier lifetime for a pn junction in the devices. A capacitance value representati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors IKEZI; HIROYUKI, FREEMAN; RICHARD L
Format Patent
LanguageEnglish
Published 14.01.1986
Edition4
Subjects
MEASURING
MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES
MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES
PHYSICS
TESTING
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Summary:A method for judging whether a group of semiconductor devices have sufficiently short carrier lifetimes to make them suitable for use in high speed electronic circuitry. A determination is made as to the satisfactory carrier lifetime for a pn junction in the devices. A capacitance value representative of the pn junction, when reverse biased, is also determined. The pn junction is placed in series with an inductor sized so that the resonant frequency of the inductor and the pn junction, when reversely biased, is substantially equal to the reciprocal of the carrier lifetime. An oscillating voltage is applied to the series combination of the junction and the inductor, the voltage having a fundamental frequency near but above the resonant frequency and an amplitude greater than a predetermined level which is in the range of 3-5 volts. Finally, the device under test is rejected should an output taken across the pn junction show a substantial frequency component below the fundamental frequency.
Bibliography:Application Number: US19840593801