Experiments on the Photomagnetoelectric Effect in Germanium

Abstract

The photomagnetoelectric (PME) effect in germanium has been investigated over a wide range of light intensity, in both $n$- and $p$-type material. Measurements of PME short-circuit current in conjunction with relative conductance increase agree well with van Roosbroeck's recently developed theory of the PME effect. The predicted large-signal behavior of ambipolar excess-carrier diffusivity is verified. Surface recombination velocities for different surface treatments have been determined with slabs of thicknesses appreciably smaller than a diffusion length. Volume lifetimes have been determined with thicker slabs having high-recombination-velocity dark surfaces. These lifetimes are in substantial agreement with those determined for the same samples by the photoconductivity-decay method.