Time-resolved photocarrier decay for mid-infrared semiconductors with excitation correlation

We describe the extension of excitation correlation to the mid-infrared. This technique provides a convenient alternative to more complicated pump-probe and time-resolved photoluminescence approaches for investigating electron-hole recombination in semiconductors. Excitation correlation is used to determine the Shockley-Read-Hall and Auger coefficients for a GaInSb/InAs multiple quantum sample with an absorption edge near 3.6 μm. The results are A=0.20±0.02ns−1, C=4.0±0.4×10−27cm6/s, and ntr=8.5±0.2×1016cm−3, where ntr is a saturation density for Shockley-Read-Hall recombination and also an estimate for the density of mid-gap trap levels.