High-bandwidth, high-sampling-rate, low-noise, two-probe transient photovoltage measuring system

In this article, we present a two-probe configuration for measuring transient photovoltage (TPV) signals from photo-electronic semiconductor devices. Unlike in a conventional one-probe system, the two electrodes of the devices under test in this study are both monitored in our new measuring system, giving rise to a significantly enhanced signal-to-noise ratio. Tentative experimental data ob tained from N, N'-Di(1-naphthyl)-N,N'-diphenyl-(1,1'-biphenyl)-4,4'-diamine-based organic semiconductor devices show that the bandwidth and the sampling rate of the system reach 1.5 GHz and 50 GS/s, respectively, without degradation of the noise level. In addition, the study of TPV signals on each individual electrode is allowed. The TPV values measured by the two individual probes are not identically equal to half of the differential TPV and will not cancel each other out as expected. This abnormal phenomenon is due to the photoelectric response of the photo-electronic material. This novel two-probe TPV measuring technique and abnormal TPV behavior might be useful for studying more dynamic processes in photo-electronic semiconductors.