Detection wavelength of InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells and superlattices

InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum well structures have been shown to be versatile for infrared detection. By changing the material composition, one can tune the detection wavelength from 2 to 35 μm and beyond. However, there have been few systematic calculations on the absorption wavelength of these structures with respect to their structural parameters. In this work we have adopted the transfer-matrix method to calculate both their energy levels and the wave functions. From this calculation, the absorption and the responsivity spectra of the structures can be predicted. The theory agrees with the experimental result of the test structures. Supported by the experimental evidence, we applied the calculation to a general class of midwavelength detectors and thus established a useful guideline for the detector design in this wavelength range.

[1]  Ewa M. Goldys,et al.  Intersubband optical absorption in strained double barrier quantum well infrared photodetectors , 1999 .

[2]  M. Buchanan,et al.  GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well photodetectors with a cutoff wavelength at 28 μm , 1998 .

[3]  D. Tsui,et al.  Corrugated quantum well infrared photodetectors for material characterization , 2000 .

[4]  Miller,et al.  Band nonparabolicity effects in semiconductor quantum wells. , 1987, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[5]  Kwong-Kit Choi,et al.  The Physics of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors , 1997 .

[6]  G. Iafrate,et al.  Wavelength tuning and absorption line shape of quantum well infrared photodetectors , 1992 .

[7]  S. Svensson,et al.  Grating coupled multicolor quantum well infrared photodetectors , 1995 .

[8]  Andrea Fiore,et al.  Strained InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum well infrared detectors at 4.5 μm , 1994 .

[9]  James S. Harris,et al.  Short wavelength intersubband transitions in InGaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells grown on GaAs , 1994 .

[10]  Meimei Z. Tidrow,et al.  A high strain two-stack two-color quantum well infrared photodetector , 1997 .

[11]  D. Tsui,et al.  A characterization technique for quantum well infrared photodetectors , 1999 .

[12]  J. Harris,et al.  Investigation of high In content InGaAs quantum wells grown on GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy , 1992 .

[13]  K. F. Huang,et al.  Two‐color infrared photodetector using GaAs/AlGaAs and strained InGaAs/AlGaAs multiquantum wells , 1993 .

[14]  L. C. West,et al.  Inducing normally forbidden transitions within the conduction band of GaAs quantum wells , 1990, Quantum Wells for Optics and Optoelectronics.

[15]  A. Messiah.  Quantum Mechanics , 1961 .

[16]  M. Fejer,et al.  Intersubband Transitions in High Indium Content InGaAs / AlGaAs Quantum Wells Grown on GaAs with a Graded InGaAs Buffer , 1993, Quantum Optoelectronics.

[17]  W.H. Chang,et al.  Two-color corrugated quantum well infrared photodetectors for remote temperature sensing , 1998, 56th Annual Device Research Conference Digest (Cat. No.98TH8373).

[18]  Kwong-Kit Choi,et al.  Detection wavelength of quantum-well infrared photodetectors , 1993 .

[19]  M. Buchanan,et al.  GaAs/InGaAs quantum well infrared photodetector with a cutoff wavelength at 35 μm , 2000 .

[20]  Akira Ishibashi,et al.  Relation between hole density and impurity density in ZnMgSSe semiconductors , 1994 .

[21]  Kwong-Kit Choi,et al.  New 10 μm infrared detector using intersubband absorption in resonant tunneling GaAlAs superlattices , 1987 .