PROPER INTERPRETATION OF PHOTOCONDUCTIVE DECAY TRANSIENTS IN SEMICONDUCTORS HAVING FINITE SURFACE RECOMBINATION VELOCITY

The influence of finite surface recombination velocity on the proper interpretation of photoconductive decay (PCD) transients in semiconductors is discussed. The limitations of simple analytical equations which relate the observed effective lifetime to the material parameters are considered. It is shown that, under most circumstances, the correct application of the appropriate analytical expression requires some prior knowledge of the material parameters under investigation. several methods are proposed to extract useful information from PCD experiments. Finally, the practicality of these methods is investigated by measuring the effective lifetimes of high-purity germanium and float-zone silicon using a noncontact PCD technique.