Violation of Quasineutrality in Semiconductor Transport The Dember Effect.pdfVIP

Violation of Quasineutrality in Semiconductor Transport: The Dember Effect Maja Krˇcmar and Wayne M. Saslow Department of Physics, Texas AM University, College Station, Texas 77840-4242 Exact solution of the linearized equations for steady-state transport in semiconductors yields two modes that vary exponentially in space, one involving screening (without entropy production) and one involving diffusion and recombination (with entropy production). Neither mode is quasineu- tral. For constant surface photoexcitation with generation of electrons and holes, the steady-state response is a linear combination of these modes, subject to global electroneutrality. The resultant charge separation produces a voltage difference across the sample (the Dember effect). 1 The Dember effect is the voltage difference that devel- surface states and no charged intrinsic states. The re- 0 ops across the bulk of a material that steadily absorbs combination rate r is the same for both electrons and 0 light at one surface. [1] It has been observed in insula- holes. With u the energy density, T the temperature, s 2 tors, [2,3] high resistivity semiconductors, [4,5] and C60 the entropy density, and ˜e and ˜h the electron and hole l thin films. [6] An extensive discussion of photovoltages, electrochemical potentials, the fundamental thermody- u both at surfaces and in the bulk, is given in Ref. [7]. namic differential for this system is J An intuitive physical pictu