Today's complex and varied semiconductor microstructures are difficult to characterize for devices, or to provide feedback to materials makers for better materials. Optical methods are one of the best means of characterization; they require no contacts and do not damage samples, they measure a variety of properties, and they work for bulk or layered structures made of elemental, binary, or ternary semiconductors.

There are several useful optical approaches which operate at different wavelengths. In the past this meant it was difficult to find the best method for a given characterization need. Now, it is possible to learn techniques and select approaches from Optical Characterization of Semiconductors, the first book to explain, illustrate, and compare the most widely used methods: photoluminescence, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman scattering.

Written with non-experts in mind, the book assumes no special knowledge of semiconductors or optics, but develops the background needed to understand the why and how of each technique.

Each method is illustrated with dozens of case studies taken from current literature, which address specific problems in silicon, GaAs, Al[subscript x]Ga[subscript 1-x]As, and other widely-used materials. This library of uses, arranged by property evaluated (such as impurity type, resistivity, and layer thickness) is valuable even for those familiar with optical methods.

Practical information is given to help establish optical facilities, including commercial sources for equipment, and experimental details which draw on the author's wide experience.

For industrial scientists with specific problems in semiconducting materials; for academic scientists who wish to apply their spectroscopic methods for characterization problems; and for students in solid state physics, materials science and engineering, and semiconductor electronics or photonics, the book provides a unique overview, bringing together these valuable techniques in a coherent way for the first time.