Time-Resolved Photoacoustic Response of Thin Semiconductors Measured with Minimal Volume Cell: Influence of Photoinduced Charge Carriers

In this paper, we derive a model for surface temperature variations on the non-illuminated side of a thermally thin semiconducting sample exposed to an optical pulse, incorporating the contribution of surface charge carrier recombinations to semiconductor heating. Based on this model, we analyze the influence of surface recombination velocity and the semiconductor’s plasma properties on the time-domain temperature change at non-illuminated side of semiconducting sample for both plasma-opaque and plasma-transparent samples. Our results show that charge carrier recombinations can have a significant impact on the time-resolved photoacoustic signal recorded with minimum volume cell, suggesting that photoacoustic measurements could be used to determine the electronic properties of semiconductors.