All-solid-state microscope-based system for picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence measurements on II-VI semiconductors

A novel, entirely solid-state, instrument has been developed for the study of time-resolved photoluminescence in a wide variety of bulk semiconductors, low-dimensional structures, and other materials. This system uses a frequency-doubled GaAlAs diode laser (pulse width 30 ps) as the 415-nm pump source and a silicon single-photon avalanche diode for detection of photoluminescence. The time-correlated single photon counting technique allows measurement of photoluminescence decays in the temporal region of 10 ps to >500 ns with high statistical accuracy. In addition, the combination of a microscope with a small-area detector provides a spatial resolution of <5 µm. This system is currently being used for the measurement of picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence from II-VI semiconductors.