Samuel Matta

A PMT-like high gain avalanche photodiode based on GaN/AlN periodically stacked structure

Avalanche photodiode (APD) has been intensively investigated as a promising candidate to replace the bulky and fragile photomultiplier tube (PMT) for weak light detection. However, the performance of most available APDs is barely satisfactory compared to that of the PMTs because of inter-valley scattering. Here, we demonstrate a PMT-like APD based on GaN/AlN periodically stacked-structure (PSS), in which the electrons encounter a much less inter-valley scattering during transport than holes. Uni-directional avalanche takes place with a high efficiency. According to our simulations based on a PSS with GaN (10 nm)/AlN (10 nm) in each period, the probability for electrons to trigger ionization in each cycle can reach as high as 80%, while that for holes is only 4%. A record high and stable gain (104) with a low ionization coefficient ratio of 0.05 is demonstrated under a constant bias in a prototype device.

Investigation of Al y Ga1− y N/Al0.5Ga0.5N quantum dot properties for the design of ultraviolet emitters

Self-assembled Al y Ga1− y N quantum dots (QDs), with y = 0 and 0.1, have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy on Al0.5Ga0.5N(0001) oriented layers using sapphire substrates. The QD formation has been followed in situ by reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED). A two- to three-dimensional (2D–3D) transition of the layer morphology is observed, characterized by a change of the RHEED pattern from streaky lines to Bragg spots. High QD densities, from 1010 up to near 1012 cm−2, have been obtained. By decreasing the GaN QD size and incorporating Al inside the QDs, a strong variation in the photoluminescence (PL) emission has been observed, enabling to cover a large spectral range from near UV (3 eV) to UV-B (3.95 eV). By combining temperature-dependent and time-resolved PL measurements, the internal quantum efficiency of the QDs has been determined at both low and high temperatures as a function of the PL energy.

Influence of the heterostructure design on the optical properties of GaN and Al0.1Ga0.9N quantum dots for ultraviolet emission

The optical properties of AlyGa1-yN quantum dots (QDs), with y = 0 or y = 0.1, in an AlxGa1−xN matrix are studied. The influence of the QD layer design is investigated pointing out the correlations between the QD structural and optical properties. In a first part, the role of the epitaxial strain in the dot self-assembling process is studied by fabricating GaN QD layers on different AlxGa1−xN layers with 0.5 ≤ x ≤ 0.7. Photoluminescence (PL) measurements show the main influence of the increase of the internal electric field (Fint) on the QD optical response inducing a strong red shift in the emission energy as x increases. Time resolved combined with temperature dependent PL measurements enabled the estimation of the QD internal quantum efficiencies at low temperature showing values around 50%. In addition, a PL integrated intensity ratio up to 74% is shown, between 300 and 9 K. In the second part, the design of Al0.1Ga0.9N QDs was investigated, by varying the Al0.1Ga0.9N amount deposited. An increase of ...

Ultra-violet avalanche photodiode based on AlN/GaN periodically-stacked-structure

The high-gain photomultiplier tube (PMT) is the most popular method to detect weak ultra-violet signals which attenuate quickly in atmosphere, although the vacuum tube makes it fragile and difficult to integrate. To overcome the disadvantage of PMT, an AlN/GaN periodically–stacked-structure (PSS) avalanche photodiode (APD) has been proposed, finally achieving good quality of high gain and low excessive noise. As there is a deep г valley only in the conduction band of both GaN and AlN, the electron transfers suffering less scattering and thus becomes easier to obtain the threshold of ionization impact. Because of unipolar ionization in the PSS APD, it works in linear mode. Four prototype devices of 5-period, 10-period, 15-period, and 20-period were fabricated to verify that the gain of APD increases exponentially with period number. And in 20-period device, a recorded high and stable gain of 104 was achieved under constant bias. In addition, it is proved both experimentally and theoretically, that temperature stability on gain is significantly improved in PSS APD. And it is found that the resonant enhancement in interfacial ionization may bring significant enhancement of electron ionization performance. To make further progress in PSS APD, the device structure is investigated by simulation. Both the gain and temperature stability are optimized alternatively by a proper design of periodical thickness and AlN layer occupancy.

High Temperature Annealing of MBE-grown Mg-doped GaN

In this report, are shown the results of high temperature resistivity and Hall Effect studies of Mg-doped GaN epilayers. The samples studied were grown on (0001) (c-plane) sapphire by molecular beam epitaxy and 0.5 μm GaN:Mg layers have been achieved on low temperature buffers of GaN (30 nm) and AlN ( 150 nm). The experiments were carried out in the temperature range from 300 K up to 900 K. Up to about 870 K a typical thermally activated conduction process has been observed with the activation energy value EA = 215 meV. However, for higher temperatures, an annealing effect is observed in all the investigated samples. The increase of the free carrier concentration as a function of time leads to an irreversible decrease of sample resistivity of more than 60%.