Demonstration of long minority carrier lifetimes in very narrow bandgap ternary InAs/GaInSb superlattices

Journal Article · Mon Sep 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4932056 · OSTI ID:1235314

Olson, Benjamin Varberg ^[1]; Kim, Jin K. ^[1]; Kadlec, Emil Andrew ^[1]; Shaner, Eric A. ^[1]; Haugan, Heather J. ^[2]; Brown, Gail J. ^[2]

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1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
2. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio (United States)

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.

• Research Organization: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC04-94AL85000
• OSTI ID: 1235314
• Report Number(s): SAND--2015-4640J; 590730
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 107; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
• Publisher: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English