THE TRANSIENT BEHAVIOR OF CONDUCTIVITY IN PHOTO-CONDUCTORS

Abstract

Research was concerned with measuring and understanding the variations of electrical conductivity with time in a sintered-layer cadmiumsulfoselenide photoconductor. Primary interest wa focused on the decay of conductivity after a known illuminating source is suddenly removed. Suitable apparatus was assembled to perform the necessary measurements. The techniques e ployed and the associated limitations are discussed. A study of the basic photoconductivity mored in the literature in that the conventional concepts of free carrier lifetime and traps are avoided. Instead, a rigorous solution to equations describing the free-electron recombination rate was derived. Several observations, based upon the evolved concepts, were made and correlated chanism in photoconductors was undertaken, and several theories were te ted. A physical model was found which can explain the salient characteristics of the data. The theory differs from the one currently favored in the literature in that the conventional concepts of free carrier lifetime and traps are avoided. Instead, a rigorous solution to equations describing the free-electron recombination rate was derived. Several observations, based upon the evolved concepts, were made and correlated to the measured data. The most surprising of th se is the implication that the hole c ncentration does not reach equilibrium when light is removed, for perhaps as long as a year. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 28, 1961
Accession Number
AD0261112

Entities

People

  • I. Wunderman

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Charged Particles
  • Conductivity
  • Electrical Conductivity
  • Electrons
  • Elementary Fermions
  • Elementary Particles
  • Equations
  • Fermions
  • Free Electrons
  • Leptons
  • Literature
  • Mathematics
  • Measurement
  • Observation
  • Photoconductivity
  • Photoconductors

Readers

  • Optical Physics and Photonics.
  • Snow Cover Descriptors for Reptiles and Their Illustrations.
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics