A. Bezinger

GaN∕AlGaN ultraviolet/infrared dual-band detector

Group III-V wide band gap materials are widely used in developing solar blind, radiation-hard, high speed optoelectronic devices. A device detecting both ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) simultaneously will be an important tool in fire fighting and for military and other applications. Here a heterojunction UV/IR dual-band detector, where the UV/IR detection is due to interband/intraband transitions in the Al0.026Ga0.974N barrier and GaN emitter, respectively, is reported. The UV threshold observed at 360nm corresponds to the band gap of the Al0.026Ga0.974N barrier, and the IR response obtained in the range of 8–14μm is in good agreement with the free carrier absorption model.

Arrayed waveguide grating demultiplexers in silicon-on-insulator

This paper presents theoretical and experimental results detailing the design and performance of arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) demultiplexers fabricated in silicon-on- insulator (SOI). The SOI waveguide is inherently multimode because of the high refractive index difference between Si and SiO2, although appropriate tailoring of the rib width to height ratio can be used to make single mode rib waveguides. This single mode condition cannot be met in the input and output combiner sections, which can therefore support many higher order modes. Modeling results demonstrate that coupling from a single mode ridge waveguide to the fundamental slab mode is typically two orders of magnitude larger than the coupling to higher modes. Hence the effect of multimode combiners on performance should be minimal. We also present calculations of bending losses which indicate that with a Si thickness of 1.5 micrometers , single mode rib waveguides can be made with radii of curvature as low as 200 micrometers . Such waveguides can also be made with zero birefringence. AWG devices were fabricated with 8 channels centered around (lambda) equals 1550 nm, and chip sizes less than 5 X 5 mm. The performance of these devices is compared with our modeling results.

Simultaneous detection of ultraviolet and infrared radiation in a single GaN/GaAlN heterojunction

Results are presented for a dual-band detector that simultaneously detects UV radiation in the 250-360 nm and IR radiation in the 5-14 microm regions with near zero spectral cross talk. In this detector having separate UV- and IR-active regions with three contacts (one common contact for both regions) allows the separation of the UV and IR generated photocurrent components, identifying the relative strength of each component. This will be an important development in UV-IR dual-band applications such as fire-flame detection, solar astronomy, and military sensing, eliminating the difficulties of employing several individual detectors with separate electronics-cooling mechanisms.

Three-band quantum well infrared photodetector using interband and intersubband transitions

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and characterization of a quantum well infrared photodetector capable of detecting near infrared (NIR), midwavelength infrared (MWIR), and long wavelength infrared (LWIR) simultaneously. The NIR detection was achieved using interband transition while MWIR and LWIR were based on intersubband transition in the conduction band. The quantum well structure was modeled by solving self-consistently the Schrodinger and Poisson equations with the help of the shooting method. Intersubband absorption in the sample was measured for the MWIR and LWIR using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and the measured peak positions were found at 5.3 and 8.7 μm, respectively, which are within 5% of the theoretical values, indicating the good accuracy of the self-consistent model. The photodetectors were fabricated using a standard photolithography process with exposed middle contacts to allow separate bias and readout of signals from the three wavelength bands. The background li...

Polarization compensation in silicon-on-insulator arrayed waveguide grating devices

As the AWG size is reduced our experimental and theoretical work demonstrates that it becomes increasingly difficult to suppress higher order modes and birefringence using ridge dimension alone. In part, it simply becomes difficult to meet the required fabrication tolerances when the ridge dimension approaches the order of a micron. We show that a novel polarization compensator scheme similar to that previously reported for a grating based demultiplexer in InP and consisting of simple shallow etched regions in the combiner sections of an SOI AWG, can eliminate the polarization sensitivity of the device by reducing the initial polarization dispersion of 2.22 nm to 0.04 nm. By combining the polarization compensator with mode filtering using appropriate array waveguide curvature, the shape of the array waveguides is no longer constrained. This allows the size of an AWG device to be scaled down to very small dimensions (e.g. less than a millimeter) and also permits the use of simple fabrication techniques such as wet etching. Our results were obtained on AWG devices based on 1.5 micrometers thick Si-on-insulator waveguides with a typical waveguide array area of a few square millimeters.

Electrically switching transverse modes in high power THz quantum cascade lasers

The design and fabrication of a high power THz quantum cascade laser (QCL), with electrically controllable transverse mode is presented. The switching of the beam pattern results in dynamic beam switching using a symmetric side current injection scheme. The angular-resolved L-I curves measurements, near-field and far-field patterns and angular-resolved lasing spectra are presented. The measurement results confirm that the quasi-TM(01) transverse mode lases first and dominates the lasing operation at lower current injection, while the quasi-TM(00) mode lases at a higher threshold current density and becomes dominant at high current injection. The near-field and far-field measurements confirm that the lasing THz beam is maneuvered by 25 degrees in emission angle, when the current density changes from 1.9 kA/cm(2) to 2.3 kA/cm(2). A two-dimension (2D) current and mode calculation provides a simple model to explain the behavior of each mode under different bias conditions.

Negative capacitance in GaN/AlGaN heterojunction dual-band detectors

A study of trap states in n+-GaN∕AlGaN heterostructures using electrical, thermal, and optical analyses is reported. Capacitance-voltage-frequency measurements showed negative capacitance and dispersion, indicating interface trap states. Infrared spectra identified three impurity related absorption centers attributed to shallow Si-donor (pinned to the AlGaN barrier), N-vacancy/C-donor, and deep Si-donor (pinned to the GaN emitter) impurities with corresponding activation energies of 30.8±0.2, 125±1, and 140±2meV, respectively. The shallow Si-donor impurity had a relaxation time of 155±9μs, while the C-donor/N-vacancy and deep Si-donor impurities appear to behave as a single trap state with a relaxation time of 1.77±0.05μs. Multiple analysis techniques allowed the determination of the activation energies of these impurity related centers and the study of the effects of trap states on the electrical behavior of the detector.

Capacitance hysteresis in GaN/AlGaN heterostructures

Capacitance characteristics with voltage and frequency of n+-GaN/AlxGa1−xN heterojunction ultraviolet (UV)-infrared (IR) photodetectors are reported. A distinct capacitance step and capacitance hysteresis have been attributed to trap energy states located just above the Fermi level at the GaN/AlGaN interface, most likely due to N-vacancy and/or C-donor impurities. The presence of the hysteresis is due to the accumulation of charge at the heterointerface, which is dependent on the location of the continuum of interface trap states relative to the Fermi level. The Al fraction in the barrier layer has been found to significantly change the positions of the interface trap states relative to the Fermi level.

Lateral diffusion of titanium disilicide as a route to contacting hybrid Si/organic nanostructures

We characterized microscopic patterns of TiSi2 using atomic force microscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy, to test the possibility of using silicide contacts for experiments on the nanoscopic scale. We observed the effect on the morphology of incomplete formation of the disilicide, and studied the growth of lateral extension due to atomic diffusion. Upon diffusion, the silicide forms a neat and clean interface some hundreds of nanometers from the bulk electrode. That spreading phenomenon is our central focus, as we believe it may be useful in future efforts to make narrowly spaced contacts.

An imaging system based on quantum-well infrared photodetector integrated with light-emitting diode

A prototype of an infrared imaging system based on the integration of a quantum-well infrared photodetector and a light-emitting diode is described. Relatively short integration times are achieved by a light conduit bridging the active device and a fiber-optically coupled camera. Movies at two frames per second could be recorded and the minimum resolvable temperature difference is 0.2 K on this prototype.