Publications

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Here, the design, fabrication, and characterization of an actively tunable long-wave infrared detector, made possible through direct integration of a graphene-enabled metasurface with a conventional type-II superlattice infrared detector, are reported. This structure allows for post-fabrication tuning of the detector spectral response through voltage-induced modification of the carrier density within graphene and, therefore, its plasmonic response. These changes modify the transmittance through the metasurface, which is fabricated monolithically atop the detector, allowing for spectral control of light reaching the detector. Importantly, this structure provides a fabrication-controlled alignment of the metasurface filter to the detector pixel and is entirely solid-state. Using single pixel devices, relative changes in the spectral response exceeding 8% have been realized. These proof-of-concept devices present a path toward solid-state hyperspectral imaging with independent pixel-to-pixel spectral control through a voltage-actuated dynamic response.

Anisotropic carrier transport properties of unintentionally doped InAs/InAs0.65Sb0.35 type-II strain-balanced superlattice material are evaluated using temperature-and field-dependent magnetotransport measurements performed in the vertical direction on a substrate-removed metal-semiconductor-metal device structure. To best isolate the measured transport to the superlattice, device fabrication entails flip-chip bonding and backside device processing to remove the substrate material and deposit contact metal directly to the bottom of an etched mesa. High-resolution mobility spectrum analysis is used to calculate the conductance contribution and corrected mixed vertical-lateral mobility of the two carrier species present. Combining the latter with lateral mobility results from in-plane magnetotransport measurements on identical superlattice material allows for the calculation of the true vertical majority electron and minority hole mobilities; amplitudes of 4.7 × 10 3 cm2/V s and 1.60 cm2/V s are determined at 77 K, respectively. The temperature-dependent results show that vertical hole mobility rapidly decreases with decreasing temperature due to trap-induced localization and then hopping transport, whereas vertical electron mobility appears phonon scattering-limited at high temperature, giving way to interface roughness scattering at low temperatures, analogous to the lateral electron mobility but with a lower overall magnitude.

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Accurate p-type doping of the active region in III-V infrared detectors is essential for optimizing the detector design and overall performance. While most III-V detector absorbers are n-type (e.g., nBn), the minority carrier devices with p-type absorbers would be expected to have relatively higher quantum efficiencies due to the higher mobility of their constituent minority carrier electrons. However, correctly determining the hole carrier concentration in narrow bandgap InAsSb may be challenging due to the potential for electron accumulation at the surface of the material and at its interface with the layer grown directly below it. Electron accumulation layers form high conductance electron channels that can dominate both resistivity and Hall-effect transport measurements. Therefore, to correctly determine the bulk hole concentration and mobility, temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent transport measurements in conjunction with Multi-Carrier Fit analysis were utilized on a series of p-doped InAs0.91Sb0.09 samples on GaSb substrates. Finally, the resulting hole concentrations and mobilities at 77 K (300 K) were 1.6 x 1018 cm^-3 (2.3 x 1018 cm-3) and 125 cm2 V^-1 s^-1 (60 cm2 V-1 s-1), respectively, compared with the intended Be-doping of ~2 x 10¹⁸ cm^-3.

We show that Sb substitution for As in a MBE grown InAs/InAsSb strained layer superlattice (SLS) is accompanied by significant strain fluctuations. The SLS was observed using scanning transmission electron microscopy along the [100] zone axis where the cation and anion atomic columns are separately resolved. Strain analysis based on atomic column positions reveals asymmetrical transitions in the strain profile across the SLS interfaces. The averaged strain profile is quantitatively fitted to the segregation model, which yields a distribution of Sb in agreement with the scanning tunneling microscopy result. The subtraction of the calculated strain reveals an increase in strain fluctuations with the Sb concentration, as well as isolated regions with large strain deviations extending spatially over ∼1 nm, which suggest the presence of point defects.

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The InAs/InAs_1-x Sb_x superlattice system distinctly differs from two well-studied superlattice systems GaAs/AlAs and InAs/GaSb in terms of electronic band alignment, common elements at the interface, and phonon spectrum overlapping of the constituents. This fact leads to the unique electronic and vibrational properties of the InAs/InAs_1-xSb_x system when compared to the other two systems. Here in this work, we report a polarized Raman study of the vibrational properties of the InAs/InAs_1-x Sb_x superlattices (SLs) as well as selected InAs_1-xSb_x alloys, all grown on GaSb substrates by either MBE or metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) from both the growth surface and cleaved edge. In the SL, from the (001) backscattering geometry, an InAs-like longitudinal optical (LO) mode is observed as the primary feature, and its intensity is found to increase with increasing Sb composition. From the (110) cleaved-edge backscattering geometry, an InAs-like transverse optical (TO) mode is observed as the main feature in two cross-polarization configurations, but an additional InAs-like “forbidden” LO mode is observed in two parallel-polarization configurations. The InAs_1-xSb_x alloys lattice matched to the substrate ( x_Sb ~ 0.09) grown by MBE are also found to exhibit the forbidden LO mode, implying the existence of some unexpected [001] modulation. However, the strained samples (x_Sb~ 0.35) grown by MOCVD are found to behave like a disordered alloy. The primary conclusions are (1) the InAs-like LO or TO mode can be either a confined or quasiconfined mode in the InAs layers of the SL or extended mode of the whole structure depending on the Sb composition. (2) InAs/InAs_1-xSb_x and InAs/GaSb SLs exhibit significantly different behaviors in the cleaved-edge geometry but qualitatively similar in the (001) geometry. (3) The appearance of the forbidden LO-like mode is a universal signature for SLs and bulk systems resulting from the mixing of phonon modes due to structural modulation or symmetry reduction.

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We examined the spectral responsivity of a 1.77 μm thick type-II superlattice based long-wave infrared detector in combination with metallic nanoantennas. Coupling between the Fabry-Pérot cavity formed by the semiconductor layer and the resonant nanoantennas on its surface enables spectral selectivity, while also increasing peak quantum efficiency to over 50%. Electromagnetic simulations reveal that this high responsivity is a direct result of field-enhancement in the absorber layer, enabling significant absorption in spite of the absorber's subwavelength thickness. Notably, thinning of the absorbing material could ultimately yield lower photodetector noise through a reduction in dark current while improving photocarrier collection efficiency. The temperature- and incident-angle-independent spectral response observed in these devices allows for operation over a wide range of temperatures and optical systems. This detector paradigm demonstrates potential benefits to device performance with applications throughout the infrared.

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Narrow-bandgap semiconductors such as alloys of InAsAlSb and their heterostructures are considered promising candidates for next generation infrared photodetectors and devices. The prospect of actively tuning the spectral responsivity of these detectors at the pixel level is very appealing. In principle, this could be achieved with a tunable metasurface fabricated monolithically on the detector pixel. Here, we present first steps towards that goal using a complementary metasurface strongly coupled to an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) mode operating in the long-wave region of the infrared spectrum. We fabricate such a coupled system using the same epitaxial layers used for infrared pixels in a focal plane array and demonstrate the existence of ENZ modes in high mobility layers of InAsSb. We confirm that the coupling strength between the ENZ mode and the metasurface depends on the ENZ layer thickness and demonstrate a transmission modulation on the order of 25%. We further show numerically the expected tunable spectral behavior of such coupled system under reverse and forward bias, which could be used in future electrically tunable detectors.

Narrow-bandgap semiconductors such as alloys of InAsAlSb and their heterostructures are considered promising candidates for next generation infrared photodetectors and devices. The prospect of actively tuning the spectral responsivity of these detectors at the pixel level is very appealing. In principle, this could be achieved with a tunable metasurface fabricated monolithically on the detector pixel. Here, we present first steps towards that goal using a complementary metasurface strongly coupled to an epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) mode operating in the long-wave region of the infrared spectrum. We fabricate such a coupled system using the same epitaxial layers used for infrared pixels in a focal plane array and demonstrate the existence of ENZ modes in high mobility layers of InAsSb. We confirm that the coupling strength between the ENZ mode and the metasurface depends on the ENZ layer thickness and demonstrate a transmission modulation on the order of 25%. We further show numerically the expected tunable spectral behavior of such coupled system under reverse and forward bias, which could be used in future electrically tunable detectors.

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A set of seven InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) were designed to have speci c bandgap energies between 290 meV (4.3 m) and 135 meV (9.2 m) in order to study the e ects of the T2SL bandgap energy on the minority carrier lifetime. A temperature dependent optical pump-probe technique is used to measure the carrier lifetimes, and the e ect of a mid-gap defect level on the carrier recombination dynamics is reported. The Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH) defect state is found to be at energy of approximately -250 12 meV relative to the valence band edge of bulk GaSb for the entire set of T2SL structures, even though the T2SL valence band edge shifts by 155 meV on the same scale. These results indicate that the SRH defect state in InAs/InAsSb T2SLs is singular and is nearly independent of the exact position of the T2SL bandgap or band edge energies. They also suggest the possibility of engineering the T2SL structure such that the SRH state is removed completely from the bandgap, a result that should signi cantly increase the minority carrier lifetime.

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Here, significantly improved carrier lifetimes in very-long wave infrared InAs/GaInSb superlattice(SL) absorbers are demonstrated by using time-resolved microwave reflectance (TMR) measurements. A nominal 47.0 Å InAs/21.5 Å Ga_0.75In_0.25Sb SLstructure that produces an approximately 25 μm response at 10 K has a minority carrier lifetime of 140 ± 20 ns at 18 K, which is markedly long for SL absorber with such a narrow bandgap. This improvement is attributed to the strain-engineered ternary design. Such SL employs a shorter period with reduced gallium in order to achieve good optical absorption and epitaxial advantages, which ultimately leads to the improvements in the minority carrier lifetime by reducing Shockley–Read–Hall (SRH) defects. By analyzing the temperature-dependence of TMR decay data, the recombination mechanisms and trap states that currently limit the performance of this SL absorber have been identified. The results show a general decrease in the long-decay lifetime component, which is dominated by the SRH recombination at temperature below ~30 K, and by Auger recombination at temperatures above ~45 K.

The Auger lifetime is a critical intrinsic parameter for infrared photodetectors as it determines the longest potential minority carrier lifetime and consequently the fundamental limitations to their performance. Here, Auger recombination is characterized in a long-wave infrared InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice. Auger coefficients as small as 7.1 × 10 - 26 cm6/s are experimentally measured using carrier lifetime data at temperatures in the range of 20 K-80 K. The data are compared to Auger-1 coefficients predicted using a 14-band K · p electronic structure model and to coefficients calculated for HgCdTe of the same bandgap. The experimental superlattice Auger coefficients are found to be an order-of-magnitude smaller than HgCdTe.

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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.

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Minority carrier lifetimes in very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) InAs/GaInSb superlattices (SLs) are reported using time-resolved microwave reflectance measurements. A strain-balanced ternary SL absorber layer of 47.0 Å InAs/21.5 Å Ga0.75In0.25Sb, corresponding to a bandgap of ~50 meV, is found to have a minority carrier lifetime of 140 ± 20 ns at ~18 K. This lifetime is extraordinarily long, when compared to lifetime values previously reported for other VLWIR SL detector materials. As a result, this enhancement is attributed to the strain-engineered ternary design, which offers a variety of epitaxial advantages and ultimately leads to a reduction of defect-mediated recombination centers.

We present that temperature-dependent measurements of carrier recombination rates using a time-resolved optical pump-probe technique are reported for mid-wave infrared InAs/InAs_1-xSb_x type-2 superlattices (T2SLs). By engineering the layer widths and alloy compositions, a 16 K band-gap of ~235 ± 10 meV was achieved for five unintentionally and four intentionally doped T2SLs. Carrier lifetimes were determined by fitting lifetime models based on Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), radiative, and Auger recombination processes to the temperature and excess carrier density dependent data. The minority carrier (MC), radiative, and Auger lifetimes were observed to generally increase with increasing antimony content and decreasing layer thickness for the unintentionally doped T2SLs. The MC lifetime is limited by SRH processes at temperatures below 200 K in the unintentionally doped T2SLs. The extracted SRH defect energy levels were found to be near mid-bandgap. Additionally, it is observed that the MC lifetime is limited by Auger recombination in the intentionally doped T2SLs with doping levels greater than n ~10¹⁶ cm^-3.

We use cross-sectional scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) to reconstruct the monolayer-by-monolayer composition profile across a representative subset of MBE-grown InAs/InAsSb superlattice layers and find that antimony segregation frustrates the intended compositional discontinuities across both antimonide-on-arsenide and arsenide-on-antimonide heterojunctions. Graded, rather than abrupt, interfaces are formed in either case. We likewise find that the incorporated antimony per superlattice period varies measurably from beginning to end of the multilayer stack. Although the intended antimony discontinuities predict significant discrepancies with respect to the experimentally observed high-resolution x-ray diffraction spectrum, dynamical simulations based on the STM-derived profiles provide an excellent quantitative match to all important aspects of the x-ray data.

Time-resolved measurements of carrier recombination are reported for a midwave infrared InAs/InAs0.66Sb0.34 type-II superlattice (T2SL) as a function of pump intensity and sample temperature. By including the T2SL doping level in the analysis, the Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), radiative, and Auger recombination components of the carrier lifetime are uniquely distinguished at each temperature. SRH is the limiting recombination mechanism for excess carrier densities less than the doping level (the low-injection regime) and temperatures less than 175 K. A SRH defect energy of 95 meV, either below the T2SL conduction-band edge or above the T2SL valence-band edge, is identified. Auger recombination limits the carrier lifetimes for excess carrier densities greater than the doping level (the high-injection regime) for all temperatures tested. Additionally, at temperatures greater than 225 K, Auger recombination also limits the low-injection carrier lifetime due to the onset of the intrinsic temperature range and large intrinsic carrier densities. Radiative recombination is found to not have a significant contribution to the total lifetime for all temperatures and injection regimes, with the data implying a photon recycling factor of 15. Using the measured lifetime data, diffusion currents are calculated and compared to calculated Hg1-xCdxTe dark current, indicating that the T2SL can have a lower dark current with mitigation of the SRH defect states. These results illustrate the potential for InAs/InAs1-xSbx T2SLs as absorbers in infrared photodetectors.

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