Temperature dependence of Fermi level obtained by electroreflectance spectroscopy of undoped n(+)-type doped GaAs

Abstract

The electroreflectance (ER) spectra of an undoped n(+)-type doped GaAs have been measured over a range of temperature from 25 to 400 K. Many Franz-Keldysh oscillations were observed above the band-gap energy, which enabled the electric field strength and, hence, also the Fermi level to be determined. The photovoltaic effect is shown to be negligible, even at the low temperature. The experiment shows that the Fermi level decreases with increasing temperature and has almost the same temperature dependence as the energy gap. It is pinned at about 0.63 of energy gap below the conduction band. (C) 1997 American Institute of Physics.