Abstract
A photoelectromotive force is observed when a semiconductor is illuminated in the region of a bulk inhomogeneity. A theoretical expression for the bulk photo-e.m.f. is derived which is valid for all levels of illumination in the region of an arbitrary impurity density gradient. With appropriate approximations the complete expression is simplified for the cases of weak and saturation illumination in inhomogeneous extrinsic and nearly intrinsic semiconductors, and in p–n and l–h junctions. The theoretical relation between bulk photo-e.m.f. and photoconductive resistance decrease is examined.Bulk photo-e.m.f. measurements were made on inhomogeneous germanium filaments. These showed the photo-e.m.f. to be linear with weak light illumination. Strong illumination photo-e.m.f. was shown to depend on the impurity distributions adjacent to the illuminated regions. The ratio of bulk photo-e.m.f. to photoconductive resistance decrease was constant at weak illumination in agreement with the theory. Measurements of the photo-e.m.f. as a function of temperature showed a close agreement with the predicted behavior in the near intrinsic range of conductivity.
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