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Springer Handbook of Electronic and Photonic Materials pp 1Cite as

Photoconductivity in Materials Research

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Abstract

Photoconductivity is the incremental change in the electrical conductivity of a semiconductor or insulator upon illumination. The behavior of photoconductivity with photon energy, light intensity and temperature, and its time evolution and frequency dependence, can reveal a great deal about carrier generation, transport and recombination processes. Many of these processes now have a sound theoretical basis and so it is possible, with due caution, to use photoconductivity as a diagnostic tool in the study of new electronic materials and devices. This chapter describes the main steady-state and transient photoconductivity techniques applied in the investigation of semiconductors whose performance is limited by the presence of localized electronic states. These materials tend to be disordered , and possess low carrier mobilities and short free-carrier lifetimes in comparison with crystalline silicon. They are often prepared as thin films , and are of interest for large-area applications, for example in solar cells, display backplane transistors, photoemissive devices such as organic light-emitting diodes (GlossaryTerm

OLED

s) and medical imagers. However, examples of where these techniques have been useful in the study of defective crystalline semiconductors are also given. The approach followed here is by way of an introduction to the techniques, the physics supporting them, and their applications, it being understood that readers requiring more detailed information will consult the references provided.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, and the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek – Vlaanderen for financial support of parts of this work. Particular thanks are due to Dr. C. Main and Dr. A.C. Reynolds, for their critical reading of the manuscript and constructive comments. Finally, we are indebted to colleagues and students past and present, and to the numerous academic visitors to the Dundee and Leuven labs, from whom we have learned much and share many fond memories.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Science and Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK

    Stephen Reynolds

  2. ASML Netherlands B.V., Veldhoven, Netherlands

    Monica Brinza

  3. Lab. of Applied and Theoretical Physics, Tebessa University, Tebessa, Algeria

    Mohammed L. Benkhedir

  4. Lab. for Semiconductor Physics, University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium

    Guy J. Adriaenssens

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  1. Stephen Reynolds
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  4. Guy J. Adriaenssens
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Correspondence to Stephen Reynolds .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada

    Safa Kasap

  2. Formerly with Leonardo MW Ltd, Southampton, UK

    Peter Capper

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Reynolds, S., Brinza, M., Benkhedir, M.L., Adriaenssens, G.J. (2017). Photoconductivity in Materials Research. In: Kasap, S., Capper, P. (eds) Springer Handbook of Electronic and Photonic Materials. Springer Handbooks. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48933-9_7

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