Determination of minority carrier diffusivity in silicon from photoconductance decay

Accurate measurements of the minority carrier diffusion constant in silicon have been determined using photoconductance decay measurements. The results for both electrons and holes are within experimental error equal to the majority carrier values in the 10/sup 13/-10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/ dopant range. For the more lightly doped specimens, the authors' data indicates slightly higher values than the majority carrier values. At present, the accuracy of this method is believed to be 5%, and comparable to the accuracy of the majority data. Eventually, greater accuracy should be obtained. Results show significantly less scatter when compared to the minority carrier data reported by other investigators.<>