NU 2014-026

Inventors

Matthew Grayson*

Boya Cui

Short Description

A powerful automated analysis software tool that uses a simple algorithm to characterize semiconductor conductivity

Background

Multicomponent semiconductor materials host multiple charge carrying species such as electrons and holes both of which contribute simultaneously to the total electrical conduction. The conductivity of a semiconductor is proportional to the product of mobility and concentration of each carrier species. Mobility spectrum analysis was originally developed to analyze the mobility and concentration of charge carriers making it possible to improve semiconductor performance by altering these characteristics. The first automated algorithm to be introduced for analyzing semiconductor conductivity was quantitative mobility spectrum analysis (QMSA) and later an improved version (iQMSA). These methods however, are limited by their ability to resolve the resultant spectrum and by their slow convergence time.

Abstract

Northwestern inventors have developed an improved automated analytical tool to iQMSA that is more powerful and can rapidly characterize the conductivity of semiconductor materials. This software can be easily incorporated into existing semiconductor testing systems and produce resultant spectrums to optimize semiconductor device performance and quality. Using Fourier-domain Mobility Spectrum Analysis (FMSA), the software program characterizes material conductivity by determining the mobility and concentration of charge carrying species such as, electrons and holes. This program improves upon previous mobility spectrum analysis techniques such as the improved quantitative mobility spectrum analysis (iQMSA) as it is able to iteratively achieve rapid convergence (less than 30 seconds to a solution on a standard desktop computer), accurate linewidth and improve the smoothness of the resultant spectrum.

Applications

• Semiconductor research
• Semiconductor development
• Semiconductor testing
• Testing of compound and heterostructured optical devices

Advantages

• Rapid convergence
• Low computational cost
• Easy to implement into existing software systems
• Improved accuracy of spectra linewidth
• Improved smoothness of spectra

Publications

Cui B, Tang Y, and Grayson M (2015) Introducing Fourier-domain mobility spectrum analysis (FMSA) to deduce multi-component carrier mobility and density. In Quantum Sensing and Nanophotonic Devices XII (Vol. 9370). [937030] SPIE. DOI: 10.1117/12.2179825 http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2017.MAR.B36.10

IP Status

Copyright © 2014 by Northwestern University, All Rights Reserved