Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 12, 2026

Carrier Lifetime Measurements in Semiconductors through the Microwave Photoconductivity Decay Method
Published on: April 18, 2019
Analytical derivation of the structure of carrier lifetime and its nonlinear dependence on optical field intensity in
Abstract:
The dependence of spontaneous carrier lifetime tau(s) on the electromagnetic field in the laser cavity is discussed in the framework of a microscopic approach to laser dynamics. An analytical relationship between tau(s) and the number of photons in the laser cavity is derived. The structure of tau(s) suggests new experiments for the determination of microscopic parameters of the active region material (e.g., the intraband carrier lifetime tau(in)). This relationship is nonlinear and does not exhibit any kind of singularity or discontinuity, as sometimes reported in the literature. The comparison between theory and experimental results is discussed.
Related Concept Videos
Carrier Generation and Recombination
This process is given by the generation rate G and is efficient due to the conservation of momentum between the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum.
Indirect generation involves an...
Carrier Transport
Drift Current:
The drift of charge carriers is started by an external electric field (E). Charged particles, such as electrons and holes, experience an acceleration between collisions with lattice atoms. For electrons, this results in a drift velocity (vd) given by:
Types of Semiconductors
Fermi Level Dynamics
Electron affinity in semiconductors refers to the energy gap between the minimum of its conduction band and the vacuum level and it is a critical parameter in determining how easily a semiconductor can accept additional electrons.
The work...
