Dark Current Measurements Research Articles

Structural, optical and electrical characterization of InAs0.83Sb0.17 p-π-n photodetector grown on GaAs substrate

High quality InAs0.83Sb0.17 mid-wavelength infrared p-π-n photodetector structure was grown with the aid of a GaSb transition layer on semi-insulating GaAs substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. The lattice mismatch and the crystal quality of the structure were investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction rocking curve measurement. The full width at half maximum values for InAs0.83Sb0.17 and GaSb crystals were determined as 215 and 238arcsec, respectively. The lattice mismatch between InAs0.83Sb0.17/GaSb structure and GaAs substrate was identified as 8.44%. Activation energies for two different temperature regimes were extracted from Arrhenius plot which was derived from temperature dependent dark current measurements. The dominant dark current mechanisms were determined as generation-recombination limited and surface leakage based for higher- and lower-temperature regimes, respectively. The cut off wavelength and the peak quantum efficiency of the photodetector were obtained from the spectral photoresponse as 4.23μm and 24.3% at 80K, respectively.

Germanium-tin multiple quantum well on silicon avalanche photodiode for photodetection at two micron wavelength

We report the demonstration of a germanium-tin multiple quantum well (Ge0.9Sn0.1 MQW)-on-Si avalanche photodiode (APD) for light detection near the 2 μm wavelength range. The measured spectral response covers wavelengths from 1510 to 2003 nm. An optical responsivity of 0.33 A W−1 is achieved at 2003 nm due to the internal avalanche gain. In addition, a thermal coefficient of breakdown voltage is extracted to be 0.053% K−1 based on the temperature-dependent dark current measurement. As compared to the traditional 2 μm wavelength APDs, the Si-based APD is promising for its small excess noise factor, less stringent demand on temperature stability, and its compatibility with silicon technology.

X-ray detection with zinc-blende (cubic) GaN Schottky diodes.

The room temperature X-ray responses as functions of time of two n type cubic GaN Schottky diodes (200 μm and 400 μm diameters) are reported. The current densities as functions of time for both diodes showed fast turn-on transients and increases in current density when illuminated with X-ray photons of energy up to 35 keV. The diodes were also electrically characterized: capacitance, implied depletion width and dark current measurements as functions of applied bias at room temperature are presented. At −5 V reverse bias, the capacitances of the diodes were measured to be (84.05 ± 0.01) pF and (121.67 ± 0.02) pF, respectively. At −5 V reverse bias, the dark current densities of the diodes were measured to be (347.2 ± 0.4) mA cm−2 and (189.0 ± 0.2) mA cm−2, respectively. The Schottky barrier heights of the devices (0.52 ± 0.07) eV and (0.63 ± 0.09) eV, respectively, were extracted from the forward dark current characteristics.

Energy Harvesting for GaAs Photovoltaics Under Low-Flux Indoor Lighting Conditions.

GaAs photovoltaics are promising candidates for indoor energy harvesting to power small-scale (≈1 mm2) electronics. This application has stringent requirements on dark current, recombination, and shunt leakage paths due to low-light conditions and small device dimensions. The power conversion efficiency and the limiting mechanisms in GaAs photovoltaic cells under indoor lighting conditions are studied experimentally. Voltage is limited by generation-recombination dark current attributed to perimeter sidewall surface recombination based on the measurements of variable cell area. Bulk and perimeter recombination coefficients of 1.464 pA/mm2 and 0.2816 pA/mm, respectively, were extracted from dark current measurements. Resulting power conversion efficiency is strongly dependent on cell area, where current GaAs of 1-mm2 indoor photovoltaic cells demonstrates power conversion efficiency of approximately 19% at 580 lx of white LED illumination. Reductions in both bulk and perimeter sidewall recombination are required to increase maximum efficiency (while maintaining small cell area near 1 mm2) to approach the theoretical power conversion efficiency of 40% for GaAs cells under typical indoor lighting conditions.

Confirmation of Auger-1 Minority-Carrier Lifetimes in Hg0.77Cd0.23Te and Prediction of Dark Current for Long-Wave Infrared Focal-Plane Arrays

Minority-carrier lifetime measurements have been carried out on Hg0.77Cd0.23Te (111)B materials with gap suitable for detection in the Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) band. The materials were grown on top of CdZnTe substrates using a liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE) process. From measurements done at 80 K, a clear difference in terms of minority-carrier lifetimes was obtained, as expected, between p-intrinsic (≤5 ns) and n-extrinsic doped samples (420 ns). Minority-carrier lifetimes were also measured as a function of temperature for the n-type samples. Auger-1-limited lifetimes were demonstrated over a wide temperature range (from 80 K to 300 K) with negligible Radiative or Shockley–Read–Hall lifetime contributions. Predictions of dark current densities are made from those lifetime measurements, assuming an Auger-1-limited lifetime. The agreement is very good between the predictions and dark current densities measured from p-on-n 640 × 512 pixels LWIR HgCdTe focal-plane arrays with 15-μm pitch from SOFRADIR, Agreement between predicted and measured dark currents and Rule’07 for LWIR is also demonstrated herein. Finally, minority-carrier lifetime measurements are demonstrated as a predictive method for focal-plane array performance. State-of-the-art dark currents from SOFRADIR p-on-n LWIR focal-plane arrays based upon high-quality HgCdTe materials are also illustrated.

High-Operating Temperature HgCdTe: A Vision for the Near Future

We review recent advances in the HgCdTe material quality and detector performance achieved at Teledyne using molecular beam epitaxy growth and the double-layer planar hetero-junction (DLPH) detector architecture. By using an un-doped, fully depleted absorber, Teledyne’s DLPH architecture can be extended for use in high operating temperatures and other applications. We assess the potential achievable performance for long wavelength infrared (LWIR) hetero-junction p-lightly-doped n or p-intrinsic-n (p-i-n) detectors based on recently reported results for 10.7 μm cutoff 1 K × 1 K focal plane arrays (FPAs) tested at temperatures down to 30 K. Variable temperature dark current measurements show that any Shockley–Read–Hall currents in the depletion region of these devices have lifetimes that are reproducibly greater than 100 ms. Under the assumption of comparable lifetimes at higher temperatures, it is predicted that fully-depleted background radiation-limited performance can be expected for 10-μm cutoff detectors from room temperature to well below liquid nitrogen temperatures, with room-temperature dark current nearly 400 times lower than predicted by Rule 07. The hetero-junction p-i-n diode is shown to have numerous other significant potential advantages including minimal or no passivation requirements for pBn-like processing, low 1/f noise, compatibility with small pixel pitch while maintaining high modulation transfer function, low crosstalk and good quantum efficiency. By appropriate design of the FPA dewar shielding, analysis shows that dark current can theoretically be further reduced below the thermal equilibrium radiative limit. Modeling shows that background radiation-limited LWIR HgCdTe operating with f/1 optics has the potential to operate within √2 of background-limited performance at 215 K. By reducing the background radiation by 2/3 using novel shielding methods, operation with a single-stage thermo-electric-cooler may be possible. If the background radiation can be reduced by 90%, then room-temperature operation is possible.

Steady state performance, photo-induced performance degradation and their relation to transient hysteresis in perovskite solar cells

Hysteresis in current-voltage curves of perovskite solar cells is a serious concern as it creates confusions about actual cell performance and raises questions on its reliability. Although a lot of effort has been made to understand the origin of hysteresis, knowing whether hysteresis affects the cell performance while they are in practical use (operated constantly at maximum power point) is not yet examined. In the present study, we investigate steady state performance and performance stability of perovskite solar cells (planar architecture with varying perovskite film thickness and TiO2 mesoscopic structure with different TiO2 compact layer thickness exhibiting hysteresis of different magnitudes) operating across an external load in relation to hysteresis. The planar cells with larger hysteresis exhibit a steady state current that closely matches the value determined on forward voltage scan. Cyclic photocurrent–dark current measurements on cells with hysteresis of different magnitudes reveal that photo-induced electrical instability (not material degradation), which might be originated from ion migration or photo-induced traps formation, is not related to hysteresis. Performance of the cells is recovered partially or fully, depending on the device structure, on storage in dark. TiO2 meso-structure cells tend to show complete recovery while the planar cells recover partially.

Effects of continuously or step-continuously graded buffer on the performance of wavelength extended InGaAs photodetectors

High In content In0.83Ga0.17As photodetector structures with a new kind of buffer scheme have been grown on InP substrate by gas source molecular beam epitaxy. The effects of buffer scheme on material properties and device performances have been investigated both experimentally and theoretically. The structures with the combination of step and continuously graded buffers show reduced surface roughness, improved photoluminescence intensity and lower device dark current than those with simplex continuously graded buffer at the same buffer thickness. The mechanisms have been discussed from X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence, dark current measurements and model analysis.

Surface conductivity of InAs/GaSb superlattice infrared detectors treated with thiolated self assembled monolayers

The surface conductivity of InAs/GaSb based type II superlattice (T2SL) long wavelength infrared material following the deposition of thiolated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of cysteamine, octadecanethiol, dodecanethiol, and hexanethiol are reported. Quantitative mobility spectrum analysis (QMSA) was employed to study the mobility and to isolate and identify surface carriers following SAM treatments on planar samples. QMSA data collected following the deposition of the SAMs on InAs/GaSb material correlates well with dark current measurements, demonstrating the usefulness of QMSA as a tool for evaluating surface conductivity and predicting device performance. All samples displayed a reduction in surface conductivity and dark current density following thiol treatment. Dark current densities were reduced to 1.1 × 10−5, 1.3 × 10−5, 1.6 × 10−5, and 5 × 10−6 A/cm2 for hexanethiol, dodecanethiol, octadecanethiol, and cysteamine, respectively, from 5.7 × 10−4 A cm2 for unpassivated devices.

Electrical performance of InAs/AlSb/GaSb superlattice photodetectors

Temperature dependence of dark current measurements is an efficient way to verify the quality of an infrared detector. Low dark current density values are needed for high performance detector applications. Identification of dominant current mechanisms in each operating temperature can be used to extract minority carrier lifetimes which are highly important for understanding carrier transport and improving the detector performance. InAs/AlSb/GaSb based T2SL N-structures with AlSb unipolar barriers are designed for low dark current with high resistance and detectivity. Here we present electrical and optical performance of such N-structure photodetectors.

Characterization of gallium arsenide X-ray mesa p-i-n photodiodes at room temperature

Two GaAs mesa p+-i-n+ photodiodes intended for photon counting X-ray spectroscopy, having an i layer thickness of 7μm and diameter of 200μm, have been characterized electrically, for their responsivity at the wavelength range 580 nm to 980 nm and one of them for its performance at detection of soft X-rays, at room temperature. Dark current and capacitance measurements as a function of applied forward and reverse bias are presented. The results show low leakage current densities, in the range of nA/cm2 at the maximum internal electric field (22kV/cm). The unintentional doping concentration of the i layer, calculated from capacitance measurements, was found to be <1014cm−3. Photocurrent measurements were performed under visible and near infrared light illumination for both diodes. The analysis of these measurements suggests the presence of a non-active (dead) layer (0.16μm thickness) at the p+ side top contact interface, where the photogenerated carriers do not contribute to the photocurrent, possibly due to recombination. One of the diodes, D1, was also characterized as detector for room temperature photon counting X-ray spectroscopy; the best energy resolution achieved (FWHM) at 5.9keV was 745eV. The noise analysis of the system, based on spectra obtained at different shaping times and applied reverse biases, showed that the dominant source of noise is the dielectric noise. It was also calculated that there was at least (165±24)eV charge trapping noise at 0V.

Characterization of 6.1 Å III–V materials grown on GaAs and Si: A comparison of GaSb/GaAs epitaxy and GaSb/AlSb/Si epitaxy

GaSb p–i–n photodiodes were grown on GaAs and Si, using interfacial misfit arrays, and on native GaSb. For the samples grown on GaAs and Si, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy images revealed interface atomic periodicities in agreement with atomistic modeling. Surface defect densities of ~1×108cm−2 were measured for both samples. Atomic force microscopy scans revealed surface roughnesses of around 1.6nm, compared with 0.5nm for the sample grown on native GaSb. Dark current and spectral response measurements were used to study the electrical and optoelectronic properties of all three samples.

Solid Solutions of Rare Earth Cations in Mesoporous Anatase Beads and Their Performances in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

Solid solutions of the rare earth (RE) cations Pr3+, Nd3+, Sm3+, Gd3+, Er3+ and Yb3+ in anatase TiO2 have been synthesized as mesoporous beads in the concentration range 0.1–0.3% of metal atoms. The solid solutions were have been characterized by XRD, SEM, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis spectroscopy, BET and BJH surface analysis. All the solid solutions possess high specific surface areas, up to more than 100 m2/g. The amount of adsorbed dye in each photoanode has been determined spectrophotometrically. All the samples were tested as photoanodes in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) using N719 as dye and a nonvolatile, benzonitrile based electrolyte. All the cells were have been tested by conversion efficiency (J–V), quantum efficiency (IPCE), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and dark current measurements. While lighter RE cations (Pr3+, Nd3+) limit the performance of DSSCs compared to pure anatase mesoporous beads, cations from Sm3+ onwards enhance the performance of the devices. A maximum conversion efficiency of 8.7% for Er3+ at a concentration of 0.2% has been achieved. This is a remarkable efficiency value for a DSSC employing N719 dye without co-adsorbents and a nonvolatile electrolyte. For each RE cation the maximum performances are obtained for a concentration of 0.2% metal atoms.

Minority carrier lifetime and dark current measurements in mid-wavelength infrared InAs0.91Sb0.09 alloy nBn photodetectors

Carrier lifetime and dark current measurements are reported for a mid-wavelength infrared InAs0.91Sb0.09 alloy nBn photodetector. Minority carrier lifetimes are measured using a non-contact time-resolved microwave technique on unprocessed portions of the nBn wafer and the Auger recombination Bloch function parameter is determined to be |F1F2|=0.292. The measured lifetimes are also used to calculate the expected diffusion dark current of the nBn devices and are compared with the experimental dark current measured in processed photodetector pixels from the same wafer. Excellent agreement is found between the two, highlighting the important relationship between lifetimes and diffusion currents in nBn photodetectors.

Improved Photovoltaic Properties of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells with KNO3-Modified Photoelectrodes.

The surface of a TiO2 photoelectrode was modified through a dip-coating process using an aqueous potassium nitrate (KNO3) solution to increase the power-conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The KNO3-modified TiO2 electrode was applied to the photoanode of the DSSCs. The DSSC with the KNO3-modified TiO2 electrode exhibited a short-circuit current (J(sc)) of 15.26 mA/cm2 and an open-circuit voltage (V(oc)) of 671 mV, compared with a J(sc) of 13.74 mA/cm2 and V(oc) of 654 mV for a reference device with a pristine TiO2 electrode. The results in combination with relevant data from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, open-circuit voltage decay, and dark current measurements revealed that the modification of the TiO2 surface using the surface modifier (KNO3) led to a longer electron lifetime by the suppression of the charge recombination between injected electrons and I3- ions, resulting in an increase in both J(sc) and V(oc), compared with those of the reference device without surface modification.

Incorporation of Potassium Water Glass on Photoelectrodes and Its Effects on the Performance of Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells.

We applied potassium water glass (PWG) for a modification of photoelectrodes and investigated the effects of this modification on the photovoltaic properties of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). The PWG-modified TiO2 electrodes were prepared by soaking the TiO2 films in an aqueous PWG solution, and the resulting electrodes were applied to the photoanodes of DSSCs. Compared with a reference device with pristine TiO2 electrode, the power conversion efficiency of a DSSC with a PWG-modified TiO2 electrode was improved by about 26% because of the enhanced short-circuit photocurrent (J(sc)) and open-circuit voltage (V(oc)). Open-circuit voltage decay, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and dark current measurements revealed that the incorporation of PWG on the TiO2 surface led to a longer electron lifetime because of the suppression of charge recombination between injected electrons and I3(-) ions, which, compared with a reference device without surface modification, resulted in an increase in both J(sc) and V(oc).

Amorphous Indium–Gallium–Oxide UV Photodetectors

We report the fabrication of amorphous (In x Ga1− x )2O3 metal–semiconductor–metal ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors on glass substrate by co-sputtering. It was found that, we could change the cutoff wavelength of the fabricated photodetectors by changing the RF sputtering power of the In2O3 target. With 5 V applied bias, it was found that the measured dark currents were $2\times 10^{-12}$ , $1\times 10^{-11}$ , and $2.3\,\times \, 10^{-11}$ A for sample A prepared with 40 W In2O3 sputtering power, sample B prepared with 50 W In2O3 sputtering power, and sample C prepared with 60 W In2O3 sputtering power, respectively. It was also found that the UV-to-visible rejection ratios were $3\times 10^{3}$ , $5\times 10^{3}$ , and $1.5\times 10^{4}$ for samples A, B, and C, respectively. Furthermore, it was found that the response speeds of the fabricated devices were good.

Improved Efficiency in Dithieno[3,2-b:2′,3′-d]silole-Based Polymer Solar Cells by the Insertion of ZnO Optical Spacer

The insertion of a ZnO optical spacer between the active layer and the cathode significantly improves the power conversion efficiency of the PDTS-DTffBT:PC71BM-based polymer solar cell up to 5.5%, which is 48% higher than the control device. The functionality of the ZnO optical spacer is embodied from a variety of aspects. First, the AFM image shows that it can optimize the surface morphology of the active layer, leading to a better contact with the cathode and lower interfacial energy barrier for the electron extraction. Second, the normal incident reflection spectra and the external quantum efficiency curve indicate that the optical field distribution is effectively modulated such that the light harvesting capability is improved. Third, the analysis of the saturated photocurrent reveals the increase for both the generation efficiency of free charges and the dissociation probability of the exciton. Finally, the dark current voltage measurement demonstrates that the local leakage current is suppressed, an...

InAsSb-based nBn photodetectors: lattice mismatched growth on GaAs and low-frequency noise performance

An InAsSb nBn detector structure was grown on both GaAs and native GaSb substrates. Temperature dependent dark current, spectral response, specific detectivity and noise spectral density measurements were then carried out. Shot-noise-limited figures of and were calculated (based upon the sum of dark current and background photocurrent) for the sample grown on GaAs and the sample grown on GaSb, respectively, at 200 K. Noise spectral density measurements revealed knee frequencies of between 124–337 Hz and ∼8 Hz, respectively. Significantly, these devices could support focal plane arrays capable of operating under thermoelectric cooling.

Dark current measurements in humid SF6: influence of electrode roughness, relative humidity and pressure

The measurement of ‘dark current’ in pressurized SF6 at high electric field is performed using electrodes with a coaxial geometry. To identify the main mechanisms involved in measured currents, the influences of electrode roughness, gas pressure and relative humidity have been investigated. The experimental results reveal that charge injection from the electrode constitute the predominant process responsible for the dark current. The latter is nearly identical in positive and negative polarities, and shows an exponential increase versus the relative humidity and the electric field. The analysis of results shows that under high electric field, the emission of charged water clusters from the water films adsorbed on electrodes probably constitutes the main mechanism of charge emission.