Progress on mid-infrared optoelectronic devices: interband cascade lasers, interband cascade detectors, and resonant tunneling diodes

We present recent progress on novel mid-infrared (MIR) light emitters and detectors. Optimized heterostructure and high-quality crystal growth allow for room temperature operation of interband cascade lasers (ICLs) with lasing wavelengths 𝜆 ≥ 6 μm. They employ asymmetric W-shaped optical quantum wells comprising highly strained layers of InAs/GaInSb/InAs with broken bandgap alignment. Furthermore, we discuss novel interband cascade detectors (ICDs) and resonant tunneling diode photodetectors (RTD-PDs) for MIR light detection. Different superlattice (SL) absorber design strategies for ICD cut-off wavelengths exceeding 𝜆 ≥ 7.0 μm are presented. SL absorbers ranging from standard InAs/GaSb SL to M-/W-shaped SL absorbers employing ternary barriers are compared.

[1]  L. Nähle,et al.  DFB interband cascade lasers for tunable laser absorption spectroscopy from 3 to 6 μm , 2013, Photonics West - Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

[2]  Antoni Rogalski,et al.  InAs/GaInSb superlattices as a promising material system for third generation infrared detectors , 2005, Other Conferences.

[3]  Hao Ye,et al.  Long-wavelength interband cascade infrared photodetectors towards high temperature operation , 2017, OPTO.

[4]  J. Koeth,et al.  Mid-infrared GaSb-based resonant tunneling diode photodetectors for gas sensing applications , 2018 .

[5]  Rui Q. Yang,et al.  Short-wavelength interband cascade infrared photodetectors operating above room temperature , 2016 .

[6]  A J Shields,et al.  Efficient single photon detection by quantum dot resonant tunneling diodes. , 2005, Physical review letters.

[7]  Sven Höfling,et al.  Room temperature operation of GaSb-based resonant tunneling diodes by prewell injection , 2017 .

[8]  Jeffrey H. Warner,et al.  W-structured type-II superlattice long-wave infrared photodiodes with high quantum efficiency , 2006 .

[9]  L. Esaki,et al.  A new semiconductor superlattice , 1977 .

[10]  Rui Q. Yang,et al.  Monolithically integrated mid-IR interband cascade laser and photodetector operating at room temperature , 2016 .

[11]  Wenjun Huang,et al.  InAs/GaSb superlattice resonant tunneling diode photodetector with InAs/AlSb double barrier structure , 2019, Applied Physics Letters.

[12]  H. Ehrenreich,et al.  Auger lifetimes in ideal InGaSb/InAs superlattices , 1993 .

[13]  Christoph H. Grein,et al.  Theoretical performance of very long wavelength InAs/InxGa1−xSb superlattice based infrared detectors , 1994 .

[14]  Sven Höfling,et al.  p‐Type Doped AlAsSb/GaSb Resonant Tunneling Diode Photodetector for the Mid‐Infrared Spectral Region , 2018, Advanced Optical Materials.

[15]  Rui Q. Yang.  Infrared laser based on intersubband transitions in quantum wells , 1995 .

[16]  Mattias Beck,et al.  Long-wavelength (λ≈16 μm), room-temperature, single-frequency quantum-cascade lasers based on a bound-to-continuum transition , 2001 .

[17]  Sven Höfling,et al.  Mid-infrared detectors based on resonant tunneling diodes and interband cascade structures , 2018, Optical Engineering + Applications.

[18]  Sven Höfling,et al.  Cavity-enhanced resonant tunneling photodetector at telecommunication wavelengths , 2014 .

[19]  Robert Weih,et al.  Innovative mid-infrared detector concepts , 2016, Optical Engineering + Applications.

[20]  Sven Höfling,et al.  Sensitivity of resonant tunneling diode photodetectors , 2016, Nanotechnology.

[21]  P. Vogl,et al.  nextnano: General Purpose 3-D Simulations , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices.

[22]  Rui Q. Yang,et al.  InAs-Based Interband Cascade Lasers , 2019, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics.

[23]  Sven Höfling,et al.  InAs-based interband-cascade-lasers emitting around 7 μm with threshold current densities below 1 kA/cm2 at room temperature , 2015 .

[24]  Christopher L. Felix,et al.  Auger coefficients in type-II InAs/Ga1−xInxSb quantum wells , 1998 .

[25]  Stephen Myers,et al.  High operating temperature interband cascade midwave infrared detector based on type-II InAs/GaSb strained layer superlattice , 2012 .

[26]  K. Shim,et al.  Composition dependence of band alignments in GaxIn1−xAsySb1−y heterojunctions lattice matched to GaSb and InAs , 2013 .

[27]  Sven Höfling,et al.  GaSb/AlAsSb resonant tunneling diodes with GaAsSb emitter prewells , 2017 .

[28]  Anne Schade,et al.  Long wavelength interband cascade lasers on GaSb substrates , 2017, Optical Engineering + Applications.

[29]  Yao-Ming Mu,et al.  Interband cascade lasers , 2000, Photonics West - Optoelectronic Materials and Devices.

[30]  P. S. Dutta,et al.  Below bandgap optical absorption in tellurium-doped GaSb , 2005 .

[31]  I. Vurgaftman,et al.  Rebalancing of internally generated carriers for mid-infrared interband cascade lasers with very low power consumption. , 2011, Nature communications.

[32]  Volker Ebert,et al.  Metrological quantification of CO in biogas using laser absorption spectroscopy and gas chromatography , 2018, Measurement Science and Technology.

[33]  Johannes Koeth,et al.  Resonant tunneling of electrons in AlSb/GaInAsSb double barrier quantum wells , 2020 .

[34]  Manijeh Razeghi,et al.  Dark current suppression in type II InAs∕GaSb superlattice long wavelength infrared photodiodes with M-structure barrier , 2007 .

[35]  Rui Q. Yang,et al.  Interband cascade detectors with room temperature photovoltaic operation , 2005 .