Determination of carrier lifetime in Si by optical modulation

A contactless optical modulation technique for the determination of photogenerated carrier lifetime in silicon is presented. The method is based on the measurement of the optically modulated free-carrier absorption in Si at 10.6 µm. The fractional change in transmitted intensity of a dc below band-gap probe beam (with ħω
_{p}
<
E_{g}
) due to a modulated pump beam (with ħω
_{p} > E_{g}
) is proportional to the excess carrier lifetime. This optical modulation technique, which is relatively simple, contactless, and nondestructive, may have significant potential as a high-resolution high-sensitivity tool for Si wafer screening, crystal growth studies, and process evaluation.