Edge excitation geometry for studying intrinsic emission spectra of bulk n-InP

The shape of the photoluminescence line excited at an edge face of InP wafer and registered from the broadside is used to investigate the intrinsic emission spectrum. The procedure is much less sensitive to the surface properties and the carrier kinetics than the conventional methods used with the reflection or transmission geometry of photoluminescence. Our method provides a tool for studying the effects of non-equilibrium distribution of minority carriers in doped direct-band semiconductors.