Microwave Techniques in Measurement of Lifetime in Germanium

Abstract

New techniques are proposed for the measurement of lifetime in semiconductors by utilizing the absorption of microwave power by charge carriers. The densities of holes and electrons are varied by irradiation with light or the conduction mechanism. Agreement is found when the microwave absorption methods are compared with the more established photoconductivity decay techniques. One of the new methods offers an advantage in that electrode attachments are no longer required.