The Excess Carrier Lifetime in P-Type HgCdTe Measured by Photoconductive Decay

Abstract

The excess carrier lifetime has been measured in p-type Hg/sub l-x/Cd/sub x/Te with x=0.225 and doping levels between 4x10/sup 15/-1x10/sup 16/cm/sup 3/, using the technique of photoconductive decay. Measurements as a function of temperature were carried out on bulk vacancy doped and Au doped crystals. We present simple theoretical arguments which show that recombination at the acceptor level plays an important role in limiting the lifetime. By considering this recombination mechanism, as well as recombination at deeper levels, we were able to model all our data, and explain the ~I/N/sub a/ dependence of lifetime on carrier concentration [1].