Modulated Photocurrent Measurements On Icosahedral Quasicrystals Of AI-Pd-Re System

Abstract

AbstractModulated photocurrent method originally developed for analyzing the electronic states of semiconductor has been applied to an Al-Pd-Re quasicrystal having high electrical resistivity. The measured DC component of the photocurrent has indicated that the mobility of the photocarrier is approximately the same as that of the dark carrier at the Fermi level. The data of the amplitude and phase shift of the AC component can be explained well by a simple model in which only the two processes, carrier generation and recombination, are involved. The recombination time obtained by fitting is by about six orders larger than those reported for semiconductors. The long recombination time as well as the energy independent mobility of carriers are discussed in view of a spiky structure in electron density of states expected for the quasicrystals.