Photo-carrier radiometry of electronic solids: A powerful new optoelectronic carrier-diffusion-density-wave methodology

Abstract
Laser-induced infrared photo-carrier radiometry (PCR) is an emerging semiconductor diagnostic technique. PCR completely obliterates the thermal infrared emission band (8-12 m), unlike the known photothermal techniques, which invariably contain combinations of carrier-wave and thermal-wave infrared emissions due to the concurrent lattice absorption of the incident beam and nonradiative heating. The PCR theory is presented as infrared depth integrals of carrier-wave (CW) density profiles. Experimental aspects of this new methodology are given, including the determination of photo-carrier transport parameters (surface recombination velocities, carrier diffusion coefficients, recombination lifetimes and carrier mobilities) through modulation frequency scans. Case studies of CW scanning imaging, ion implantation and space-charge layer charge profiling at SiO₂ - Si interfaces are also discussed.