Sensitivity Limit of Nanoscale Phototransistors

In this letter, the optical gain mechanism in phototransistor detectors (PTDs) is explored in low light conditions. An analytical formula is derived for the physical limit on the minimum number of detectable photons for the PTD. This formulation shows that the sensitivity of the PTD, regardless of itsmaterial composition, is related to the square root of the normalized total capacitance at the base layer. Since the base total capacitance is directly proportional to the size of the PTD, the formulation shows the scaling effect on the sensitivity of the PTD. Our proposedmodel can be used to explore a wide range of PTDs, including nanowire, monolayer, and bulk devices. For the illustration of the ability of the model, two different PDTs, one with bottom–up fabrication for ultraviolet and the other with top–down fabrication for short-wave infrared (SWIR) detection, are used. For the SWIR PTD, a scaling effect is explored on InGaAs-based devices. Our modeling predicts that this PTD with a nanoscale electronic area can reach to a single photon noise equivalent power even at room temperature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study on the sensitivity of the PTD for extreme low light detection.

[1]  J.P. Helme,et al.  Analytical Modeling of Speed Response of Heterojunction Bipolar Phototransistors , 2007, Journal of Lightwave Technology.

[2]  Noise in phototransistors , 2011 .

[3]  S. Personick.  Receiver design for digital fiber optic communication systems, II , 1973 .

[4]  Jun Zhang,et al.  Advances in InGaAs/InP single-photon detector systems for quantum communication , 2015, Light: Science & Applications.

[5]  K. Crozier,et al.  High-performance silicon nanowire bipolar phototransistors , 2016 .

[6]  N. Hayama,et al.  Gain-Enhanced InGaAs–InP Heterojunction Phototransistor With Zn-Doped Mesa Sidewall , 2009, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[7]  Hooman Mohseni,et al.  A photon detector with very high gain at low bias and at room temperature , 2007 .

[8]  Vala Fathipour,et al.  Analytical modeling and numerical simulation of the short-wave infrared electron-injection detectors , 2016 .

[9]  Vala Fathipour,et al.  New progress in electron-injection detectors for NIR imagers with low noise and high frame rates , 2016, Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation.

[10]  C. Soci,et al.  ZnO nanowire UV photodetectors with high internal gain. , 2007, Nano letters.

[11]  S. Chandrasekhar,et al.  Diffusive base transport in narrow base InP/Ga0.47In0.53As heterojunction bipolar transistors , 1991 .

[12]  Vladimir Stojanovic,et al.  First Principles Optimization of Opto-Electronic Communication Links , 2017, IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems I: Regular Papers.

[13]  N. Namekata,et al.  800 MHz single-photon detection at 1550-nm using an InGaAs/InP avalanche photodiode operated with a sine wave gating. , 2006, Optics express.

[14]  T. Hsueh,et al.  A ZnO-nanowire phototransistor prepared on glass substrates. , 2011, ACS applied materials & interfaces.

[15]  Y. G. Wang,et al.  Adsorption and desorption of oxygen probed from ZnO nanowire films by photocurrent measurements , 2005 .

[16]  P. Robson,et al.  Gain of a heterojunction bipolar phototransistor , 1985, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[17]  P. Yang.  Nanowire Photonics , 2007, 2007 International Nano-Optoelectronics Workshop.

[18]  Charles M. Lieber,et al.  Gallium Nitride Nanowire Nanodevices , 2002 .

[19]  Richard K. Ahrenkiel,et al.  INTENSITY-DEPENDENT MINORITY-CARRIER LIFETIME IN III-V SEMICONDUCTORS DUE TO SATURATION OF RECOMBINATION CENTERS , 1991 .

[20]  Charles M Lieber,et al.  Nanoscale avalanche photodiodes for highly sensitive and spatially resolved photon detection , 2006, Nature materials.

[21]  Arthur Zhang,et al.  Ultrahigh responsivity visible and infrared detection using silicon nanowire phototransistors. , 2010, Nano letters.

[22]  Zhiyong Fan,et al.  All-printable band-edge modulated ZnO nanowire photodetectors with ultra-high detectivity , 2014, Nature Communications.

[23]  Manijeh Razeghi,et al.  Impact of scaling base thickness on the performance of heterojunction phototransistors , 2017, Nanotechnology.

[24]  Min-Su Park,et al.  Enhancement of Optical Gain in Floating-Base InGaP–GaAs Heterojunction Phototransistors , 2010, IEEE Photonics Technology Letters.

[25]  Hooman Mohseni,et al.  Sub-Poissonian shot noise of a high internal gain injection photon detector. , 2008, Optics express.

[26]  C. A. Burrus,et al.  InP/InGaAs heterojunction phototransistors , 1981 .

[27]  G. Konstantatos,et al.  Hybrid graphene-quantum dot phototransistors with ultrahigh gain. , 2011, Nature nanotechnology.

[28]  W. Lu,et al.  Anomalous and Highly Efficient InAs Nanowire Phototransistors Based on Majority Carrier Transport at Room Temperature , 2014, Advanced materials.

[29]  Horst Zimmermann,et al.  Phototransistor noise model based on noise measurements on PNP PIN phototransistors , 2014 .

[30]  Y. Blanter,et al.  Shot noise in mesoscopic conductors , 1999, cond-mat/9910158.

[31]  A. Bonakdar,et al.  Impact of optical antennas on active optoelectronic devices. , 2014, Nanoscale.

[32]  Stephen R. Forrest,et al.  A high‐gain, high‐bandwidth In0.53Ga0.47As/InP heterojunction phototransistor for optical communications , 1991 .

[33]  Connie Chang-Hasnain,et al.  Ultrahigh Responsivity-Bandwidth Product in a Compact InP Nanopillar Phototransistor Directly Grown on Silicon , 2016, Scientific Reports.