Lifetime of Carriers in Lead Sulfide Crystals

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Abstract
The relationship of carrier lifetime in lead sulfide crystals to the density of dislocations and crystal resistivity is studied experimentally. Dislocation density is obtained by etch pit counting. Two groups of crystals are analyzed: in one group the density of dislocations is approximately the same but the resistivity varies; in the other the resistivity is approximately the same but the density of dislocations varies. The carrier lifetime was found to be independent of the resistivity for a high dislocation density, ruling out the Auger process as an important recombination mechanism. Carrier lifetime was found to be inversely proportional to the density of dislocations, which suggests that the Shockley-Reed recombination mechanism is an important one.