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Ultrafast photocurrent measurement of the escape time of electrons and holes from carbon nanotube PN junction photodiodes

Ultrafast photocurrent measurements are performed on individual carbon nanotube PN junction photodiodes. The photocurrent response to sub-picosecond pulses separated by a variable time delay Δt shows strong photocurrent suppression when two pulses overlap (Δt = 0). The picosecond-scale decay time of photocurrent suppression scales inversely with the applied bias VSD, and is twice as long for photon energy above the second subband E22 as compared to lower energy. The observed photocurrent behavior is well described by an escape time model that accounts for carrier effective mass.