Temperature dependence of defect-related photoluminescence in III-V and II-VI semiconductors

Mechanisms of thermal quenching of photoluminescence (PL) related to defects in semiconductors are analyzed. We conclude that the Schon-Klasens (multi-center) mechanism of the thermal quenching of PL is much more common for defects in III-V and II-VI semiconductors as compared to the Seitz-Mott (one-center) mechanism. The temperature dependencies of PL are simulated with a phenomenological model. In its simplest version, three types of defects are included: a shallow donor, an acceptor responsible for the PL, and a nonradiative center that has the highest recombination efficiency. The case of abrupt and tunable thermal quenching of PL is considered in more detail. This phenomenon is predicted to occur in high-resistivity semiconductors. It is caused by a sudden redirection of the recombination flow from a radiative acceptor to a nonradiative defect. (C) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.