Epitaxial HgCdTe/CdTe Photodiodes For The 1 -3 μm Spectral Region

Hgi-xCdxTe epitaxial layers have been successfully grown in various compositions, for 1-3 μm applications. n+/p junctions are formed either by a standard B-implantation into as-grown p-type layers or by doubly grown p- and n-layers. The SWIR HgCdTe photodiodes exhibit quantum efficiencies of 55-65% without AR coating. For the diodes with 1.39 μm cut-off at room temperature, the zero bias detector resistance-area (RoA) product is 4 x 10 4 Ω-cm2, and the dark current density is ~ 1 x 10 -4 A/cm2 at half-breakdown voltage. The same values of ~ 104 Ω-cm2 RoA products have also been measured for 2.4 μm cut-off photodiodes at 195K. The energy gap and temperature dependence of RoA product is in excellent agreement with the bulk limited generation-recombination model. The breakdown voltages of SWIR diodes vary from 12 volts to greater than 130 volts, depending on the Cd composition (x) and base carrier concentrations.