An improved version of the Haynes–Shockley experiment with electrical or optical injection of the excess carriers

The Haynes-Shockley experiment allows direct measurements of the drift mobility, of the diffusion coefficient, and of the recombination lifetime of excess carriers in semiconductors. In order to obtain easier and more accurate measurements in a didactic laboratory, we designed a new setup for this experiment: that uses electrical of optical injection of the excess carriers. (C) 2000 American Association of Physics Teachers.