Recombination rate analysis in long minority carrier lifetime mid-wave infrared InGaAs/InAsSb superlattices

Abstract

Gallium is incorporated into the strain-balanced In(Ga)As/InAsSb superlattice system to achieve the same mid-wave infrared cutoff tunability as conventional Ga-free InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices, but with an additional degree of design freedom to enable optimization of absorption and transport properties. Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements of InGaAs/InAsSb superlattice characterization- and doped device structures are reported from 77 to 300 K and compared to InAs/InAsSb. The low-injection photoluminescence decay yields the minority carrier lifetime, which is analyzed with a recombination rate model, enabling the determination of the temperature-dependent Shockley–Read–Hall, radiative, and Auger recombination lifetimes and extraction of defect energy levels and capture cross section defect concentration products. The Shockley–Read–Hall-limited lifetime of undoped InGaAs/InAsSb is marginally reduced from 2.3 to 1.4 μs due to the inclusion of Ga; however, given that Ga improves the vertical hole mobility by a factor of >10×, a diffusion-limited InGaAs/InAsSb superlattice nBn could expect a lower bound of 2.5× improvement in diffusion length with significant impact on photodetector quantum efficiency and radiation hardness. At temperatures below 120 K, the doped device structures are Shockley–Read–Hall limited at 0.5 μs, which shows promise for detector applications.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
May 10, 2021
Source ID
10.1063/5.0047178

Entities

People

  • Chad A. Stephenson
  • Christian Morath
  • Clark N. Kadlec
  • Elizabeth H. Steenbergen
  • Eric A. Shaner
  • Gamini Ariyawansa
  • J. F. Klem
  • Perry C. Grant
  • Preston T. Webster
  • Rigo A. Carrasco
  • S. R. Johnson
  • Samuel D. Hawkins
  • Stephen T. Schaefer

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Arizona State University
  • New Mexico State University
  • Sandia National Laboratories

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Materials science

Readers

  • Computer Engineering
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics
  • Quantum Computing