Excess carrier recombination lifetime of bulk n-type 3C-SiC

Transient absorption technique was used to determine carrier lifetimes in 3C-SiC grown on Si and 6H-SiC substrates. A slow lifetime component originated from minority carrier traps and pointed out to the trap saturation with increasing injection. Recombination lifetime in different samples varied between 0.5–120 ns. Its value decreased with excess carrier density in the transition range between minority-carrier-lifetime and high-injection lifetime but abnormally increased above the carrier density of 2×1017 cm−3. Negligible contribution of surface and Auger recombination to recombination lifetime peculiarities was observed. Possible mechanisms of the observed lifetime variation are discussed.