Minority carrier lifetime determination from inversion layer transient response

A simple method is described for the determination of minority carrier lifetime using the small signal response time of an inversion layer in an MOS capacitor. Only a single charge transport electrometer measurement and the oxide thickness are required to compute this lifetime. It is also shown that since the measured response times are generally several orders of magnitude greater than the actual lifetime, this method allows the ready measurement of lifetimes down to the 10^-10seconds range.