Investigation of defect levels in semi-insulating materials by modulated and transient photocurrent: comparison of methods

Abstract

High-resolution photoinduced transient spectroscopy and the modulated photocurrent technique are compared in terms of possible application to the investigation of defect levels in semi-insulating monocrystalline materials. After a description of the theoretical and experimental aspects, the advantages, drawbacks and limitations of each method are discussed. The two techniques complement each other and their potentialities are exemplified by the measurements of trap parameters in the same samples of semi-insulating Cr-doped and undoped GaAs. From these results we deduce a possible model for the properties of the Cr defect in GaAs.