PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the transient effects in a functionally graded photo-thermoelastic (TE) medium with gravity and rotation by considering two generalised TE theories: Lord–Shulman (LS) and Green–Lindsay (GL). The governing equations are derived in rectangular Cartesian coordinates for a two dimensional problem.Design/methodology/approachAll the physical properties of the semiconductor are supposed to vary exponentially with distance. The analytical solution is procured by employing normal mode technique on the resulting non-dimensional coupled field equations with appropriate boundary conditions.FindingsFor the mechanically loaded thermally insulated surface, normal displacement, stress components, temperature distribution and carrier density are calculated numerically with the help of MATLAB software for a silicon semiconductor and displayed graphically. Some particular cases of interest have also been deduced from the present results.Originality/valueThe effects of rotation and non-homogeneity on the different physical fields are investigated on the basis of analytical and numerical results. Comparisons are made with the results predicted by GL theory in the presence and absence of gravity for different values of time. Comparisons are also made between the three theories in the presence of rotation, gravity and in-homogeneity. Such problems are very important in many dynamical systems.

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