Optical Properties and Photoelectric Effects

Abstract

This chapter presents the fundamental optical properties and bulk photoelectric effects in a semiconductor. The optical properties associated with the fundamental and free-carrier absorption processes and the internal photoelectric effects such as photoconductive (PC), photovoltaic (PV), and photomagnetoelectric (PME) effects in a semiconductor are described. Important fundamental physical and electronic properties such as energy band structures, excess carrier phenomena, and recombination mechanisms can be understood by studying the optical absorption processes and photoelectric effects in a semiconductor.Many practical applications have been developed using internal photoelectric effects such as PV and PC effects in semiconductors. Future trends aremoving toward further development of various optoelectronic devices for a wide variety of applications in PV devices (solar cells), light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and laser diodes (LDs), and optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs) for use in optical computing, optical communications, signal processing, and data transmission.