Applicability of the Scher-Montroll model to transient photocurrent and surface potential decay in insulators

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Transient photocurrent measurements in anthracene crystals and surface potential decay measurements in polyethylene and phthalocyanine films show that care must be taken when applying the normalized logI-vs-logt plot of the Scher-Montroll model to determine transit times. In all three materials, two intersecting straight lines were obtained in the featureless time region beyond previously measured transit times. It is suggested that for the particular fields and thicknesses of samples used, the transit time may be too short to observe by the particular experimental method used, or that the carriers may never reach the rear electrode. In both cases featureless decay curves will be observed, and the logI-vs-logt plot can predict erroneous results. Universality seems to be generally obeyed.