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In contrast to metals, the average free energy of electrons can be changed in semiconductors to a great extent by illumination. Especially the concentration of minority electronic carriers can differ by orders of magnitude from the equilibrium value. This has two major effects on electrode processes: ( a ) change of charge distribution and potential drops in the space charge layer; and ( b ) variation of the rate of electrode reaction in which minority carriers are involved. Some examples are given for those effects at various semiconductors.
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H. Genscher (1966) studied this question.
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