The performance of the photodetector is often the primary limiting factor affecting a free space communication or LiDAR system's sensitivity. Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) can be used to improve the signal to noise ratio (SNR) compared to conventional p-i-n photodiodes. Our study focuses on demonstrating an APD operating in the eye-safe short-wave infrared (SWIR) spectrum (>1400 nm) with high multiplication (M>1200) and low excess noise (F<7 at M=200) at room temperature. This device utilizes GaAsSb and Al0.85Ga0.15AsSb in a separate absorber, charge, and multiplication (SACM) configuration on an InP substrate. Notably, this device exhibits more than 40 times improvement in maximum achievable multiplication and 6.5 times lower excess noise at M=25 compared to commercially available InGaAs/InP devices.
We investigate the origin of dark current by studying the bulk and surface recombination mechanisms using temperaturedependent minority carrier lifetime measurements of GaAsSb p-i-n devices. We measure the equilibrium carrier concentration (background doping concentration) by transient microwave reflectance and compare with capacitancevoltage measurements. Room temperature minority carrier lifetime results are presented, as well as initial low temperature measurements.
Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) capable of operating at telecommunication wavelengths usually utilize an InGaAs absorber and a multiplication region of InP or InAlAs. Since the electron and hole ionization coefficients (α and β respectively) in these multiplication regions are very similar they suffer from high excess noise, limiting their sensitivity. In recent years, there have been a number of reports of Sb containing III-V semiconductor alloys that appear to show very low excess noise characteristics, similar to or better than that obtained in silicon. These reports show that AlInAsSb grown on GaSb appears to show a β/α ratio of ~0.015. Both AlAsSb and Al0.85Ga0.15As0.56Sb0.44 grown lattice matched on InP also show β/α values that vary from 0.005-0.01. The exception to this appears to be AlGaAsSb grown lattice matched on GaSb where a β/α ratio of ~2.5 has been seen. This paper reviews the published results in this area.
Background doping polarity type is a critical parameter for avalanche photodiode performance. We demonstrated a technique using capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements on double mesa structures with a p-i-n or n-i-p homojunctions to determine the polarity type of the unintentionally doped intrinsic (uid) region. CV measurements scale with the size of the mesa and enable design flexibility in producing variable top or bottom mesa diameters. We designed and tested AlGaAsSb and AlInAsSb structures and performed measurements at varying temperatures. Measurements varied with the top mesa, indicating the p-n junction is located between the p-region and the uid region, therefore it is n-type.
Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are critical components for a variety of remote sensing applications, particularly for 3D imaging using light detection and ranging (LiDAR). APDs can provide higher sensitivity and faster response times than traditional PIN diodes due to their internal gain. To apply LiDAR to gas monitoring applications, including greenhouse gases, APDs need to be sensitive further into the infrared than Si APDs can detect. This work investigates an absorber that is sensitive to 2 μm and compatible with an APD. A separate absorption, charge, and multiplication (SACM) heterostructure is often used to reduce the dark current of an infrared APD. In a SACM design, the absorber is placed in a low field region to minimize tunneling and the multiplier is placed in a high field region to maximize impact ionization. We have previously explored high performance multipliers that are lattice matched to InP substrates. In this work, we explore a candidate lattice-matched absorber, an In0.53Ga0.47As/GaAs0.51Sb0.49 Type II superlattice (T2SL). We have demonstrated photoluminescence at 2 μm using a 5 nm InGaAs/5 nm GaAsSb T2SL structure. We have grown and fabricated 1-micron thick PIN diodes with this absorber material and obtained an n-type background carrier concentration of 5×1015 cm-3 . We are currently undertaking the radiometric characterization of these devices to support their integration into a SACM APD.
We present gain, dark current and excess noise characteristics of PIN Al0.85Ga0.15As0.56Sb0.44 (hereafter AlGaAsSb) avalanche photodiodes (APDs) on InP substrates with 1000 nm thick multiplier layers. The AlGaAsSb APDs were grown by molecular beam epitaxy using a digital alloy technique (DA) to avoid phase separation. Current-voltage measurements give a peak gain of ~ 42, a breakdown voltage of – 54.3 V, and a dark current density at a gain of 10 of ~ 145 μA/cm2. Excess noise measurements of multiple AlGaAsSb APDs show that k (the ratio of electron and hole impact ionization coefficients) is ~ 0.01. This k-value is comparable to Si, which is widely used for visible and near-infrared APDs. The low dark current density and low excess noise suggest that such thick AlGaAsSb layers are promising multipliers in separate absorption, charge and multiplication (SACM) structures for short-wavelength infrared applications such as optical communication and LIDAR, particularly on a commercial InP platform.
This paper reports the recent progress on the development of GaSb-based vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) with a record-long emission wavelength of above 4 μm using type-II quantum wells. Mid-wave infrared (MWIR) spectral region, covering the 3-6 μm wavelength range, is technologically very interesting for enabling two major application areas such as sensing and defense/security. Among several types of diode lasers, electricallypumped continuous-wave operating VCSELs seem to be the most attractive choice owing to their low-power consumption, inherent longitudinal single-mode emission, and simple electro-thermal wavelength tunability. The applicability of MWIR VCSELs for these two major areas are also discussed in this paper. Single-mode low-power (a few mWs) VCSEL operating at room-temperature with reasonable tunability is essential for the sensing application. For the advanced military application, high optical power (with at least a few watts), high-efficiency and high-brightness (>1 W/mm2) MWIR lasers are important. Given that the MWIR wavelength regime is eye-safe and has a low-loss atmospheric window, the development of next-generation MWIR laser sources is currently in high demand.
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