Christian P. Morath

High-responsivity, normal-incidence long-wave infrared (λ∼7.2 μm) InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As dots-in-a-well detector

Normal incidence InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As dots-in-a-well detectors operating at T=78 K with λp∼7.2 μm and a spectral width (Δλ/λ) of 35% are reported. The peak at 7.2 μm is attributed to the bound-to-bound transitions between the ground state of the dot and the states within the InGaAs well. A broad shoulder around 5 μm, which is attributed to the bound-to-continuum transition, is also observed. Calibrated blackbody measurements at a device temperature of 78 K yield a peak responsivity of 3.58 A/W (Vb=−1 V), peak detectivity=2.7×109 cm Hz1/2/W (Vb=−0.3 V), conversion efficiency of 57% and a gain ∼25.

Two color InAs/InGaAs dots-in-a-well detector with background-limited performance at 91 K

Normal incidence long wave infrared (λc∼9 μm) InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As dots-in-a-well detectors with background limited performance at 91 K, under f#1.7 300 K background irradiance, are reported. Two distinct peaks (λp1∼4.2 μm and λp2∼7.6 μm) are observed in the spectral response, which could possibly be due to a bound-to-continuum transition and a bound-to-bound transition, respectively. The operating wavelength of the detector can be varied by changing the width of the quantum well surrounding the quantum dots. Using calibrated blackbody measurements, the peak responsivity of the detector is measured to be 0.73 A/W (Vb=−1.7 V at T=60 K).

High responsivity, LWIR dots-in-a-well quantum dot infrared photodetectors

Abstract In this paper we report studies on normal incidence, InAs/In0.15Ga0.85As quantum dot infrared photodetectors (QDIPs) in the dots-in-a-well (DWELL) configuration. Three QDIP structures with similar dot and well dimensions were grown and devices were fabricated from each wafer. Of the three devices studied, the first served as the control, the second was grown with an additional 400 A AlGaAs blocking layer, and the third was grown on a GaAs n+ substrate with the intention of testing a single pass geometry. Spectral measurements on all three devices show one main peak in the long-wave IR (≈8 μm). The absorption was attributed to the bound-to-bound transition between the ground state of the InAs quantum dot and the ground state of the In0.15Ga0.85As well. Calibrated peak responsivity and peak detectivity measurements were performed on each device at 40, 60, and 80 K. For the same temperatures, frequency response measurements from ∼20 Hz to 4 kHz at a bias of Vb=−1 V were also performed. The addition of the blocking layer was shown to slightly enhance responsivity, which peaked at ∼2.4 A/W at 77 K, Vb=−1 V and responsivity was observed to be significantly reduced in the single pass (n+ substrate) sample. The rolloff of the frequency response was observed to be heavily dependent on temperature, bias, and irradiance. The results from the characterization of each sample are reported and discussed.

Low-temperature noise measurements of an InAs/GaSb-based nBn MWIR detector

Recent experiments on conventional p-on-n and n-on-p Type II superlattices (SLS) infrared detectors still indicate larger than theoretically predicted dark current densities, despite the well known suppression of the Auger recombination mechanism. Rather, dark current in SLS is thought to still be limited by trap-assisted tunneling in the depletion region and surface leakage currents resulting from lack of fully passivated mesa sidewalls. An emerging infrared detector technology utilizing a unipolar, single-band barrier design, the so-called nBn architecture, potentially suppresses these remaining noise current mechanisms. In this report, measurements of the noise current spectral density of a mid-wave infrared nBn detector, composed of a type-II InAs/GaSb strain layer superlattice (SLS) absorber (n) and contact (n) layers with an AlGaSb barrier (B), under low-temperature, low-background conditions are presented. Here, noise was measured using a transimpedance amplifier incorporating a dewar-mounted feedback resistor RF and source-follower MOSFET, both held at 77 K. This configuration confines high detector impedance issues to the dewar, minimizes Johnson noise due to the electronics, and enhances bandwidth by reducing stray capacitance. Features of the detectors noise spectrums at different bias are examined.

Layer interdependence of transport in an undoped electron-hole bilayer

The layer interdependence of transport in an undoped electron-hole bilayer (uEHBL) device was studied as a function of carrier density, interlayer electric field, and temperature. The uEHBL device consisted of a density tunable, independently contacted two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) and two-dimensional hole gas (2DHG) induced via field effect in distinct GaAs quantum wells separated by a 30 nm Al

Growth of room-temperature “arsenic free” infrared photovoltaic detectors on GaSb substrate using metamorphic InAlSb digital alloy buffer layers

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Thermal annealing recovery of intersubband transitions in proton-irradiated GaAs/AlGaAs multiple quantum wells

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Diffusion current characteristics of defect-limited nBn mid-wave infrared detectors

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Normal incidence InAs/InGaAs dots-in-well detectors with current blocking AlGaAs layer

As barrier. Transport measurements were made simultaneously on each layer using the van der Pauw method. An increase in 2DHG mobility with increasing 2DEG density was observed, while the 2DEG mobility showed negligible dependence on the 2DHG density. Decreasing the interlayer electric-field and thereby increasing interlayer separation also increased the 2DHG mobility with negligible effects on the 2DEG mobility. The change in interlayer separation as interlayer electric-field changed was estimated using 2DHG Coulomb drag measurements. The results were consistent with mobility of each layer being only indirectly dependent on the adjacent layer density and dominated by background impurity scattering. Temperature dependencies were also determined for the resistivity of each layer.

Space-radiation-induced effects in polymer photodetectors

We report the growth of a high-quality graded InAlSb digital alloy buffer layer on GaSb substrates. The metamorphic buffer layer relaxes the lattice matching constraint and allows the growth of heterostructures without the use of a second group V element. Cross-sectional transmission electronic microscopy images reveal a very low dislocation density in the buffer layer. Using such a buffer layer, a room-temperature InGaSb photovoltaic detector with λcutoff∼3 μm has been fabricated with an external quantum efficiency >70%.