Minority-carrier lifetime and surface recombination velocity measurement by frequency-domain photoluminescence

A novel nondestructive and contactless experimental method for measurement of the minority-carrier lifetime tau and surface recombination velocity S is presented. The method is based on the analysis of the photoluminescence (PL) time decay after laser excitation. The PL decay is analyzed in the frequency domain, which allows accurate extraction of both tau and S independently from the same measurement. Closed-form analytical solutions are derived for the PL signal in the frequency domain. The novel technique is able to measure accurately subnanosecond lifetimes. It can also measure S on heavily doped semiconductors. The method, frequency-domain photoluminescence (FDPL), is demonstrated in Si, GaAs, and InP materials.>