Temperature dependence of the radiative recombination coefficient of intrinsic crystalline silicon

The radiative recombination coefficient B(T) of intrinsic crystalline silicon is determined as a function of temperature over the temperature range 77-300 K. We observe that B(T) decreases as a function of temperature and we compare our results to previously published contradictory data from the literature. The radiative recombination coefficient is calculated from the absorption coefficient for band-to-band transitions, which we determine at different temperatures from photoluminescence spectra measured on planar high resistivity float zone silicon wafers. Photoluminescence spectra could be detected over a large range of more than five orders of magnitude, which allowed us to determine extremely low values of the absorption coefficient in the spectral range where absorption processes are accompanied by the simultaneous absorption of up to four phonons. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.