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Polarization dependent photocurrent spectra are measured on a (001) $\beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ Schottky photodetector, where the linear polarization of light is rotated within the ab plane. Three spectral peaks at 4.92 eV, 5.15 eV, and 5.44 eV are observed that vary in intensity with the optical polarization direction. The peak transition energies are consistent with excitons previously reported in $\beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ due to interband transitions modified by the valence band p-orbital anisotropy and the electron-hole Coulombic attraction. The measured polarization-dependence of the photocurrent matches our predictions based on electromagnetic simulations of anisotropic absorption using the complex dielectric function tensor extracted from previous ellipsometry studies. These results illustrate the dominance of excitonic absorption and photocurrent in $\beta$-Ga$_{2}$O$_{3}$ both below and above the band gap, demonstrate a combined theoretical/experimental understanding of anisotropic photocarrier generation, and validate previous atomistic band structure calculations in this low-symmetry ultra-wide band gap semiconductor., Comment: 15 pages, 1 table, and 4 figure

The eXciton Franz-Keldysh (XFK) effect is observed in GaN p-n junction diodes via the spectral variation of photocurrent responsivity data that redshift and broaden with increasing reverse bias. Photocurrent spectra are quantitatively fit over a broad photon energy range to an XFK model using only a single fit parameter that determines the lineshape, the local bias ($V_{l}$), uniquely determining the local electric field maximum and depletion widths. As expected, the spectrally determined values of $V_{l}$ vary linearly with the applied bias ($V$) and reveal a large reduction in the local electric field due to electrostatic non-uniformity. The built-in bias ($V_{bi}$) is estimated by extrapolating $V_{l}$ at $V=0$, which compared with independent C-V measurements indicates an overall $\pm$0.31 V accuracy of $V_{l}$. This demonstrates sub-bandgap photocurrent spectroscopy as a local probe of electric field in wide bandgap diodes that can be used to map out regions of device breakdown (hot spots) for improving electrostatic design of high voltage devices., Comment: 27 pages, 13 figures