ABSTRACTRecombination-driven mechanisms for defect formation do not account well for several experimental facts, and indeed conflict with some facts. To overcome these problems, an alternative mechanism is proposed in which latent defect centers are converted to metastable defects (dangling bonds) without a recombination event. The transitions are driven simply by electron capture at the center with no energy barrier. A new configuration-coordinate diagram expressing this mechanism includes essential configuration-induced changes in the energies of band edges, and accounts for several other previously problematic observations. This carrier-induced mechanism (CIM) is consistent with defect formation in forward bias and defect inhibition in reverse bias, light-enhanced annealing, as well as the usual light-induced and beam-induced formation. For low orħħωthe process starts by ionization of an existing defect.
Study of photoluminescence and computation of configuration coordinate diagram of Cu related deep levels in InP