INTERFACE RECOMBINATION OF CHARGE-CARRIERS IN BICRYSTALS

A standard photoconductance measurement is suggested for determining the intergrain recombination velocity of excess charge carriers in a bicrystal. Analysis of the bicrystal photoconductance shows two important effects: First, if the grain size is much larger than the diffusion length, the excess-carrier lifetime in a polycrystalline material will be indistinguishable from that in a single crystal with the same bulk and surface properties. Second, as the intergrain recombination velocity increases, its effect tends to saturate.