Can a multivalent defect be mimicked by several Shockley–Read–Hall-like defects?

The origin of defects present in a device is not always clear. Hence, in electronic device simulation, the influence of defects with more than two different charge states multivalent defects is often modeled as a set of defects with only two possible charge states Shockley–Read–Hall SRH -like defects which follow the SRH statistics. This paper investigates under which circumstances this procedure is allowed, and provides means to check the equivalence between the multivalent and SRH-like description in a fast and efficient way. The procedures are verified simulating a thin film solar cell structure. © 2010 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3487474