Laser surface photovoltage spectroscopy: A new tool for the determination of surface state distributions

Abstract
A new experimental technique, which utilizes a tunable laser as the illumination source for surface photovoltage spectroscopy measurements, is presented. The data obtained by this technique make it possible to determine the distribution function of gap states observed at semiconductor interfaces. An outline of the approach together with experimental results obtained using a Ti:sapphire laser on InAlAs and CdTe crystals is given.