Electrical characterization of nanostructures

In this chapter we will describe a selection of electrical characterization methods based on electrical and optical excitation of carriers. Current-voltage and capacitance-voltage characterization investigate the mechanisms of charge transport and distribution, but a deep insight about the electrically active defect population and their properties is obtained by spectroscopic methods (thermal and photo-induced spectroscopy). While the majority of the presented methods are widely assessed in heterostructure investigation, their successful application to nanostructures is currently at the state of the art level, as shown in the case studies on GaN nanowires.