Measurement of the Auger lifetime in GaInAsSb/GaSb heterostructures using the photoacoustic technique

Abstract

We have studied GaxIn1−xAsySb1−y/GaSb heterostructures for x=0.84 and y=0.14 using the photoacoustic technique with the heat transmission configuration. A theoretical model, which includes all the possible nonradiative recombination mechanisms that contribute to heat generation, was developed to calculate the photoacoustic signal for this type of heterostructure. The Auger recombination lifetime τAuger was determined by fitting our experimental results to the calculated frequency dependence of the theoretical photoacoustic signal. The obtained value for τAuger is compatible with those reported in the literature for semiconductors with band-gap energies below and above 0.5 eV, the energy region where there is a lack of experimental τAuger values.

Optical Properties of In2xGa2–2xO3 Nanowires Revealed by Photoacoustic Spectroscopy

“…27 In addition, time-and frequency-resolved measurements of the photoacoustic signal can also be used to obtain thermal and carrier transport properties of materials, including thermal diffusivity and conductivity, 28 nonradiative lifetimes, and carrier diffusion coefficient. 29,30 Recent advances in contactless determination of thermal conductivity by means of photoacoustic and photothermal methods 31−33 pave the way for further studies of emerging electronic nanostructures 34−37 and thermoelectric materials. 38−40 In principle, wide-gap material nanostructures deposited on macroscopically thick Si substrate necessary for proper device assembly cannot be probed by classic optical spectroscopy.…”

Determination of the band gap of indium-rich InGaN by means of photoacoustic spectroscopy

“…The signal is practically flat and only residual noise from the Fabry-Perot interference pattern is visible. While CER has proven to be a highly useful method to measure the band gap of semiconductors [8][9][10], including InGaN [13,27], this technique might be limited for samples with a high density of surface accumulation electrons, because the surface accumulation layer can prevent the band bending modulation. Similarly, this effect was reported for AlGaN/GaN heterostructures where a two dimensional electron gas screened the band modulation [28].…”

“…Therefore, owing to the many intrinsic difficulties of the InGaN band gap characterization the use of alternative techniques is desirable. Photoacoustic spectroscopy (PA) has demonstrated to be a reliable technique that can be used to determine the band gap of semiconductor alloys [8][9][10], including InGaN quantum wells [11,12]. In this article, we show that PA is a highly valuable method for the measurement of the band gap of indium-rich high-quality InGaN thin films.…”

Survey of Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) Devices

“…In many cases, and especially in high-quality, passivated semiconductors, the effective lifetime is usually dominated by radiative and/or Auger recombination, and the effects of SRH and surface recombination can be neglected for purposes of assessing ultimate efficiency limits. Studies, including experimental data, of minority carrier recombination properties in materials III-V compound alloys used for TPV cells, especially InGaAsSb, are available in [28,[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]. In predicting and comparing the performance potential of various TPV materials and cells, finding the optimum bandgap for a particular application, and identifying loss mechanisms, it is useful to explore the limitations on dark current J 0 and opencircuit voltage V OC in more detail.…”

“…It is estimated that the interface recombination at an AlGaAsSb/InGaAsSb interface can be as low as 100 cm/s [41][42][43][44][45][46].…”