Physical Foundations of Optoelectronics - NFPL021

• Title: Fyzikální základy optoelektroniky
• Guaranteed by: Department of Macromolecular Physics (32-KMF)
• Faculty: Faculty of Mathematics and Physics
• Actual: from 2025
• Semester: summer
• E-Credits: 3
• Hours per week, examination: summer s.:2/0, Ex [HT]
• Capacity: unlimited
• Min. number of students: unlimited
• 4EU+: no
• Virtual mobility / capacity: no
• State of the course: taught
• Language: English
• Teaching methods: full-time
• Guarantor: doc. RNDr. Jiří Toušek, CSc.
• Classification: Physics > Solid State Physics

Annotation

English

Selected parts of semiconductor physics, photoelectric properties of semiconductors, semiconductor radiation sources and detectors.

Last update: T_KMF (18.05.2001)

Czech

Fyzika polovodičů, fotoelektrické vlastnosti polovodičů, polovodičové zdroje a detektory záření.

Last update: ()

Course completion requirements

The subject ends with an exam.

Last update: Toušek Jiří, doc. RNDr., CSc. (13.05.2026)

Literature

Toušek J. : Polovodičové prvky III. UK. Praha. 1993

Sre S.M. : Physics of Semiconductor Devices. J. Wiley. 1981. 2. vydání

Wilson J., Hawkes J.F.B. : Optoelectronics. An Introduction. Prentice Hall 1983

Last update: Zakouřil Pavel, RNDr., Ph.D. (05.08.2002)

Syllabus

1. Basic concepts and terms.
Classical case of photoelectric conductivity. Recombination of free carriers on simple impurity centers. (small concentration of impurity centers, arbitrary concentration of impurity centers) Relaxation of photoelectric conductivity. Semiconductor with multiple types of recombination centers (lux-ampere characteristics, light and thermal radiation).

2. Basic relations and phenomena in photoelectric conductivity.
Basic relations (expressions for current carrier flows, continuity equation, Poisson's equation). Stationary photoelectric conductivity of samples of finite dimensions. Effect of the surface on photoelectric phenomena. Effective lifetime (stationary photoelectric conductivity of a thin semiconductor wafer and the concept of effective lifetime of excess current carriers, relaxation of excess conductivity in a thin semiconductor sample when neglecting carrier trapping in traps. Spectral fine structure of photoelectric conductivity.

3. Photovoltaic phenomena.
Bulk photovoltaic phenomenon. Barrier photovoltaic phenomenon (P-N junction illuminated parallel to the junction plane, P-N junction illuminated perpendicular to the junction plane, photovoltaic phenomenon at a metal-semiconductor contact, photovoltaic phenomena in heterogeneous junctions, applications of the photovoltaic phenomenon - solar cells).

4. Dopant photoelectric conductivity.
5. Generation of free charge carriers.
6. Electrical contacts.
7. Currents limited by space charge.
The influence of shallow traps on POPN. The influence deep traps on POPN. Non-stationary injection currents. Amplification factor.

8. Thermostimulated currents.
Monomolecular kinetics. Bimolecular kinetics. Fast recapture. Use of thermostimulated currents.

9. Photoelectromagnetic effect. .
10. Semiconductor detectors of nuclear radiation.
Interaction of radiation with matter. Transport of current carriers through the detector. Semiconductor detectors.

11. Noise. .
12. Methods of measuring photoelectric effects.

Last update: Toušek Jiří, doc. RNDr., CSc. (13.05.2026)