Frequency-resolved spectroscopy and its application to the analysis of recombination in semiconductors

Abstract
The study of recombination lifetimes and kinetics is an essential part of the analysis of recombination mechanisms in semiconductors. In recent years, time-resolved spectroscopy (TRS) has become the standard method of obtaining such experimental data, using a pulsed excitation source and gated detection. In this paper is discussed an alternative experimental approach which overcomes some of the limitations inherent in the TRS method by working in the frequency domain. The application of this method, which we call frequency-resolved spectroscopy (FRS), is described and illustrated with several examples from both crystalline and amorphous semiconductor spectroscopy.