A new approach to electrically detected magnetic resonance: Spin-dependent transient spectroscopy

Electrically detected magnetic resonance (EDMR) is arguably the most sensitive method available to study electrically active point defects in semiconductor devices. Most EDMR studies have utilized spin-dependent recombination current and, thus, require p-n junctions or a photoconductive structure. Some time ago, Chen and Lang proposed and demonstrated EDMR via spin-dependent deep level transient spectroscopy in metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors. We report on a similar and significantly simpler technique: spin-dependent transient spectroscopy (SDTS). We show that the sensitivity of this technique is independent of the resonance field and frequency. Through capacitance-voltage analysis, combined with our SDTS results, this technique can (crudely) provide information about the density of states of defects with a broad distribution of energy levels. In addition, we show that SDTS can be readily adapted to near-zero-field magnetoresistance effect measurements.