Photoresponse of resonant tunneling diode photodetectors as a function of bias voltage

Abstract

We have studied the photocurrent-voltage relation of resonant tunneling diode (RTD) photodetectors by means of electrooptical transport measurements. The investigated RTDs are based on an Al0.6Ga0.4As/GaAs double barrier resonant tunneling structure (RTS) with an integrated GaInNAs absorption layer for light sensing at the telecommunication wavelength of λ= 1.3 μm. Under illumination, photogenerated holes can be captured for accumulation in vicinity to the RTS and modulate the resonant tunneling current that is highly sensitive to changes in the local electrostatic potential. The resulting photocurrent-voltage relation is found to be a nonlinear function of the applied bias voltage, and governed by the interplay of the electronic transport properties of the RTS and the dynamics of photogenerated holes. Time-resolved photocurrent measurements were employed to analyze the dynamics of photogenerated holes. From the photocurrent-time traces the quantum-efficiency and mean lifetime of photogenerated holes can be separately determined. We found that the photoresponse is suppressed by a low quantum efficiency for bias voltages below V ≤ 1 V. In this regime, the built-in electric field prevents photogenerated holes from accumulation at the RTS. For voltages above V >1 V, the built-in field is compensated by the external bias, and η(V) takes on a constant value. In this regime, the RTD photoresponse is mainly determined by the lifetime of holes accumulated at the RTS. The lifetime is limited by thermionic carrier escape and was found to decrease exponentially with the applied bias voltage.