MBE growth of Sb-based bulk nBn infrared photodetector structures on 6-inch GaSb substrates

Abstract

The GaSb-based 6.1 Å lattice constant family of materials and heterostructures provides rich bandgap engineering possibilities and have received considerable attention for their potential and demonstrated performance in infrared (IR) detection and imaging applications. Mid-wave and long-wave IR photodetectors are progressing toward commercial manufacturing applications. To succeed, they must move from research laboratory settings to general semiconductor production, and high-quality GaSb-based epitaxial wafers with diameter larger than the current standard 3-inch are highly desirable. 4-inch GaSb substrates have been in production for a couple of years and are now commercially available. Recently, epi-ready GaSb substrates with diameter in excess of 6-inch were successfully produced. In this work, we report on the MBE (Molecular Beam Epitaxy) growth of generic MWIR bulk nBn photodetectors on 6-inch diameter GaSb substrates. The surface morphology, optical and structural quality of the epiwafers as evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM), Nomarski microscopy, low temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, and high-resolution x-ray diffraction (XRD) will be discussed. Current density versus voltage (J-V) and photoresponsivity measurements from large-area mesa diode fabricated will also be reported. Material and device properties of these 6-inch epiwafers will be compared to similar structures grown on commercially available 4-inch diameter GaSb substrates.