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The structural and optical properties of lattice-matched InAs0.911Sb0.089 bulk layers and strain-balanced InAs/InAs1-xSbx (x∼0.1-0.4) superlattices grown on (100)-oriented GaSb substrates by molecular beam epitaxy are examined using X-ray diffraction, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and temperature dependent photoluminescence spectroscopy. The photoluminescence and ellipsometry measurements determine the ground state bandgap energy and the X-ray diffraction measurements determine the layer thickness and mole fraction of the structures studied. Detailed modeling of the X-ray diffraction data is employed to quantify unintentional incorporation of approximately 1% Sb into the InAs layers of the superlattices. A Kronig-Penney model of the superlattice miniband structure is used to analyze the valence band offset between InAs and InAsSb, and hence the InAsSb band edge positions at each mole fraction. The resulting composition dependence of the bandgap energy and band edge positions of InAsSb are described using the bandgap bowing model; the respective low and room temperature bowing parameters for bulk InAsSb are 938 and 750 meV for the bandgap, 558 and 383 meV for the conduction band, and -380 and -367 meV for the valence band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strain-balanced InAs/InAsSb superlattices offer access to the mid- to long-wavelength infrared region with what is essentially a ternary material system at the GaSb lattice constant. The absorption coefficients of InAs/InAsSb superlattices grown by molecular beam epitaxy on (100)-oriented GaSb substrates are measured at room temperature over the 30 to 800 meV photon energy range using spectroscopic ellipsometry, and the miniband structure of each superlattice is calculated using a Kronig-Penney model. The InAs/InAsSb conduction band offset is used as a fitting parameter to align the calculated superlattice ground state transition energy to the measured absorption onset at room temperature and to the photoluminescence peak energy at low temperature. It is observed that the ground state absorption coefficient and transition strength are proportional to the square of the wavefunction overlap and the ground state absorption coefficient approaches a maximum value of around 5780 cm-1 as the wavefunction overlap approaches 100%. The absorption analysis of these samples indicates that the optical joint density of states is weakly dependent on the period thickness and Sb content of the superlattice, and that wavefunction overlap is the principal design parameter in terms of obtaining strong absorption in these structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erbium arsenide (ErAs) is a semi-metallic material that self-assembles into nanoparticles when grown in GaAs via molecular beam epitaxy. We use steady-state and time-resolved photolumines-cence to examine the mechanism of carrier transfer between indium arsenide (InAs) quantum dots and ErAs nanoparticles in a GaAs host. We probe the electronic structure of the ErAs metal nano-particles (MNPs) and the optoelectronic properties of the nanocomposite and show that the carrier transfer rates are independent of pump intensity. This result suggests that the ErAs MNPs have a continuous density of states and effectively act as traps. The absence of a temperature dependence tells us that carrier transfer from the InAs quantum dots to ErAs MNPs is not phonon assisted. We show that the measured photoluminescence decay rates are consistent with a carrier tunneling model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice materials studied to date for infrared detector applications have been residually n-type, but p-type absorber regions with minority carrier electrons can result in increased photodiode quantum efficiency, RoA, and detectivity. Therefore, Be-doped InAs/InAsSb superlattices were investigated to determine the p-type InAs/InAsSb superlattice material transport properties essential to developing high quality photodiode absorber materials. Hall measurements performed at 10K revealed that the superlattice converted to p-type with Be-doping of 3 × 1016 cm–3 and the hole mobility reached 24 400 cm2/Vs. Photoresponse measurements at 10K confirmed the 175 meV bandgap and material optical quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time-resolved photoluminescence measurements reveal a minority carrier lifetime of >412 ns at 77 K under low excitation for a long-wavelength infrared InAs/InAs0.72Sb0.28 type-II superlattice (T2SL). This lifetime represents an order-of-magnitude increase in the minority carrier lifetime over previously reported lifetimes in long-wavelength infrared InAs/Ga1-xInxSb T2SLs. The considerably longer lifetime is attributed to a reduction of non-radiative recombination centers with the removal of Ga from the superlattice structure. This lifetime improvement may enable background limited T2SL long-wavelength infrared photodetectors at higher operating temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strain-balanced type-II InAs/InAs1-xSbx superlattices with various compositions (x = 0.22, 0.23, 0.37) and different layer thicknesses (tInAs = 7 nm, tInAsSb = 3.3, 2.3, 2.0 nm, respectively) have been grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition on GaSb substrates. X-ray diffraction revealed narrow satellite peaks (full-width-half-maximum of <100 arc sec), indicative of uniform superlattice periodicity and excellent crystallinity, which was also corroborated by cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy observations. Despite relaxation, low-temperature photoluminescence measurements showed peaks at 6.7 μm and 5.8 μm, while photoconductance results showed strong spectral response up to 200 K, when the photoresponse onset was 8.6 μm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A two-terminal multicolor photodetector that is most advantageous for greater than two bands is proposed. This two-terminal design is particularly significant for focal plane arrays as it maximizes the fill factor and simplifies the readout integrated circuits. Individual color detection is realized with appropriate optical biasing. This concept is demonstrated experimentally using a three-color photodetector and biasing light emitting diodes. The measured linear dynamic range is greater than four orders of magnitude, making it a practical device for a broad range of applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]