Photocurrent Studies of β-FeSi₂ Thin Films

We report the observation of photocurrent spectrum involving both the fundamental interband, extrinsic defect transitions β-FeSi₂ and the intrinsic transitions of Si substrate and demonstrate the sensitivity and reliability of the photocurrent measurement for revealing the energy band structure of β-FeSi₂. The transition energies are in good agreement with the results of absorption measurement and the theoretical calculation based on a simple recombination model.