Photoconducting

Free-electron lasers have long enabled the generation of extremely intense, sub-picosecond TFlz pulses that have been used to characterize a wide variety of materials and ultrafast processes [43]. Due to their massive size and great expense, however, only a few research groups have been able to operate them. Other approaches to the generation of sub-picosecond TFlz pulses have therefore been sought, and one of the earliest and most successfid involved semiconducting materials. In a photoconductive semiconductor, carriers (for n-type material, electrons)... 

Selenium exhibits both photovoltaic action, where light is converted directly into electricity, and photoconductive action, where the electrical resistance decreases with increased illumination. These properties make selenium useful in the production of photocells and exposure meters for photographic use, as well as solar cells. Selenium is also able to convert a.c. electricity to d.c., and is extensively used in rectifiers. Below its melting point selenium is a p-type semiconductor and is finding many uses in electronic and solid-state applications. 

Mid- and near-infrared Nernst filament globar NaCl or KBr Grating interferometer Golay cell thermocouple bolometer pyroelectric photoconductive semiconductor... 

FURNACES,ELECTRIC - INDUCHON FURNACES] (Vol 12) -photoconductivity [PHOTOCONDUCTIVE POLYMERS] (Vol 18) for papermaking [PAPER] (Vol 18)... 

Photochemical technology Photoconductive polymers Photography Printing processes Radioactive tracers Radiopaques... 

Hg Cd Te is an example of a ternary detector, in which the value of x controls the cutoff wavelength. Photoconductive detectors are generally simpler to couple to low noise amplifiers photodiodes generally have lower power consumption because these have no external bias, and better high frequency performance (15,16). 

The polysdanes are normally electrical insulators, but on doping with AsF or SbF they exhibit electrical conductivity up to the levels of good semiconductors (qv) (98,124). Conductivities up to 0.5 (H-cm) have been measured. However, the doped polymers are sensitive to air and moisture thereby making them unattractive for practical use. In addition to semiconducting behavior, polysilanes exhibit photoconductivity and appear suitable for electrophotography (qv) (125—127). Polysdanes have also been found to exhibit nonlinear optical properties (94,128). 

Lead sulfide is used in photoconductive cells, infrared detectors, transistors, humidity sensors in rockets, catalysts for removing mercaptans from petroleum distillates, mirror coatings to limit reflectivity, high temperature solid-film lubricants, and in blue lead pigments (82). 

Lead Telluride. Lead teUuride [1314-91 -6] PbTe, forms white cubic crystals, mol wt 334.79, sp gr 8.16, and has a hardness of 3 on the Mohs scale. It is very slightly soluble in water, melts at 917°C, and is prepared by melting lead and tellurium together. Lead teUuride has semiconductive and photoconductive properties. It is used in pyrometry, in heat-sensing instmments such as bolometers and infrared spectroscopes (see Infrared technology AND RAMAN SPECTROSCOPY), and in thermoelectric elements to convert heat directly to electricity (33,34,83). Lead teUuride is also used in catalysts for oxygen reduction in fuel ceUs (qv) (84), as cathodes in primary batteries with lithium anodes (85), in electrical contacts for vacuum switches (86), in lead-ion selective electrodes (87), in tunable lasers (qv) (88), and in thermistors (89). 

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