Impact ionisation in Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 for Sb-based avalanche photodiodes

X Collins,A P Craig,A R J Marshall,T Roblin

doi:10.1063/1.5006883

X Collins, A P Craig + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5006883

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Journal: Applied Physics Letters	Publication Date: Jan 8, 2018
Citations: 5	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: Lancaster University

Abstract

We report the impact ionisation coefficients of the quaternary alloy Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 lattice matched to GaSb substrates within the field range of 150 to 550 kV cm−1 using p-i-n and n-i-p diodes of various intrinsic thicknesses. The coefficients were found with an evolutionary fitting algorithm using a non-local recurrence based multiplication model and a variable electric field profile. These coefficients indicate that an avalanche photodiode not only can be designed to be a function in the mid-wave infrared but also can be operated at lower voltages. This is due to the high magnitude of the impact ionisation coefficients at relatively low fields compared to other III–V materials typically used in avalanche multiplication regions.

Highlights

We report the impact ionisation coefficients of the quaternary alloy Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 lattice matched to GaSb substrates within the field range of 150 to 550 kV cmÀ1 using p-i-n and n-i-p diodes of various intrinsic thicknesses
This is due to the high magnitude of the impact ionisation coefficients at relatively low fields compared to other III–V materials typically used in avalanche multiplication regions
Within the infrared (IR), Si based Avalanche photodiodes (APDs) have been predominant for wavelengths up to 1.1 lm (Ref. 1), while for the most commonly used telecom wavelengths of 1.3 and 1.55 lm, InGaAs/AlInAs based separate absorption and multiplication (SAM) APDs have become the incumbent technology after much study

Summary

Introduction

We report the impact ionisation coefficients of the quaternary alloy Al0.9Ga0.1As0.08Sb0.92 lattice matched to GaSb substrates within the field range of 150 to 550 kV cmÀ1 using p-i-n and n-i-p diodes of various intrinsic thicknesses. This is due to the high magnitude of the impact ionisation coefficients at relatively low fields compared to other III–V materials typically used in avalanche multiplication regions.

Results

Conclusion