Two methods for calculating transport parameters in semiconductor superlattices by applying Green’s functions are compared in the paper. For one of the methods, the Wannier functions method, where computations in the complex space and Wannier functions base are required, the Hamiltonian matrix is small in size and its elements depend solely on the energy. For the real space method, as it operates in the floating point domain and uses the Hamiltonian containing the elements dependent both on energy and position, the Hamiltonian matrix is larger in size. The size makes the method computationally challenging. To find the consequences of choosing one of the methods, a direct comparison between the computations, obtained for both methods with the same input parameters, was undertaken. The differences between the results are shown and explained. Selected simulations allowed us to discuss advantages and disadvantages of both methods. The calculations include transport parameters such as the density of states and the occupation functions, with regard to scattering processes where the self-consistent Born approximation was used, as well as the spatial distribution of electron concentration for two superlattices structures. The numerical results are obtained within the non-equilibrium Green’s functions formalism by solving the Dyson and the Keldysh equations.

This work investigates the potential of InAs/GaSb superlattice detectors for the short-wavelength infrared spectral band. A barrier detector structure was grown by molecular beam epitaxy and devices were fabricated using standard photolithography techniques. Optical and electrical characterisations were carried out and the current limitations were identified. The authors found that the short diffusion length of ~1.8 µm is currently limiting the quantum efficiency (double-pass, no anti-reflection coating) to 43% at 2.8 µm and 200 K. The dark current density is limited by the surface leakage current which shows generation-recombination and diffusion characters below and above 195 K, respectively. By fitting the size dependence of the dark current, the bulk values have been estimated to be 6.57·10−6 A/cm2 at 200 K and 2.31·10−6 A/cm2 at 250 K, which is only a factor of 4 and 2, respectively, above the Rule07.

This work investigates the potential of p-type InAs/GaSb superlattice for the fabrication of full mid-wave megapixel detectors with n-on-p polarity. A significantly higher surface leakage is observed in deep-etched n-on-p photodiodes compared to p-on-n diodes. Shallow-etch and two-etch-step pixel geometry are demonstrated to mitigate the surface leakage on devices down to 10 µm with n-on-p polarity. A lateral diffusion length of 16 µm is extracted from the shallow etched pixels, which indicates that cross talk could be a major problem in small pitch arrays. Therefore, the two-etch-step process is used in the fabrication of 1280 × 1024 arrays with a 7.5 µm pitch, and a potential operating temperature up to 100 K is demonstrated.

Short-period 10 monolayers InAs/10ML GaSb type-II superlattices have been deposited on a highly lattice-mismatched GaAs (001), 2° offcut towards <110> substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. This superlattice was designed for detection in the mid-wave infrared spectral region (cut-off wavelength, λcut-off = 5.4 µm at 300 K). The growth was performed at relatively low temperatures. The InAs/GaSb superlattices were grown on a GaSb buffer layer by an interfacial misfit array in order to relieve the strain due to the ~7.6% lattice-mismatch between the GaAs substrate and type-II superlattices. The X-ray characterisation reveals a good crystalline quality exhibiting full width at half maximum ~100 arcsec of the zero-order peak. Besides, the grown samples have been found to exhibit a change in the conductivity.

In recent years, type-II superlattice-based devices have completed the offer of the electronic industry in many areas of applications. Photodetection is one of them, especially in the mid-infrared wavelength range. It is due to the unique feature of a superlattice material, which is a tuneable bandgap. It is also believed that the dark current of superlattice-based photodetectors is strongly suppressed due to the suppression of the band-to-band tunnelling current in a superlattice material. This argument relies, however, on a semi-classical approach that treats superlattice as a bulk material with effective parameters extracted from the kp analysis. In the paper, a superlattice device is analysed on a quantum level: the non-equilibrium Green’s function method is applied to the two-band Hamiltonian of the InAs/GaSb superlattice p-i-n diode. The analysis concentrates on the band-to-band tunnelling with the aim to validate the correctness of a semi-classical description of the phenomenon. The results of calculations reveal that in a superlattice diode, the inter-band tunnelling occurs only for certain values of energy and in-plane momentum, for which electronic and hole sub-bands cross. The transitions occurring for vanishing in-plane momentum produce resonances in the current-voltage characteristics – the feature which was reported in a few experimental observations. This scenario is quite different from that occurring in bulk materials, where there is a range of energy-momentum pairs for which the band-to-band tunnelling takes place, and so current-voltage characteristics are free from any resonances. However, simulations show that, while not justified for a detailed analysis, the semi-classical description can be applied to superlattice-based devices for an ‘order of magnitude’ estimation of the band-to-band tunnelling current.

Ga-free InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice structures grown on GaSb substrates have demonstrated high performance for mid-wave infrared applications. However, realisation of long wavelength infrared photodetectors based on this material system still presents challenges, especially in terms of reduced quantum efficiency. This reduction is due, in part, to the increased type-II superlattice period required to attain longer wavelengths, as thicker periods decrease the wave-function overlap for the spatially separated quantum wells. One way to improve long wavelength infrared performance is to modify the type-II superlattice designs with a shorter superlattice period for a given wavelength, thereby increasing the wave-function overlap and the resulting optical absorption. Long wavelength infrared epitaxial structures with reduced periods have been realised by shifting the lattice constant of the type-II superlattice from GaSb to AlSb. Alternatively, epitaxial growth on substrates with orientations different than the traditional (100) surface presents another way for superlattice period reduction. In this work, the authors evaluate the performance of long wavelength infrared type-II superlattice detectors grown by molecular beam epitaxy using two different approaches to reduce the superlattice period: first, a metamorphic buffer to target the AlSb lattice parameter, and second, structures lattices matched to GaSb using substrates with different orientations. The use of the metamorphic buffer enabled a ~30% reduction in the superlattice period compared to reference baseline structures, maintaining a high quantum efficiency, but with the elevated dark current related to defects generated in the metamorphic buffer. Red-shift in a cut-off wavelength obtained from growths on high-index substrates offers a potential path to improve the infrared photodetector characteristics. Focal plane arrays were fabricated on (100), (311)A- and (211)B-oriented structures to compare the performance of each approach.

Mid-wavelength infrared detectors and focal plane array based on n-type InAs/InAsSb type-II strained layer superlattice absorbers have achieved excellent performance. In the long and very long wavelength infrared, however, n-type InAs/InAsSb type-II strained layer superlattice detectors are limited by their relatively small absorption coefficients and short growth-direction hole diffusion lengths, and consequently have only been able to achieve modest level of quantum efficiency. The authors present an overview of their progress in exploring complementary barrier infrared detectors that contain p-type InAs/InAsSb type-II strained layer superlattice absorbers for quantum efficiency enhancement. The authors describe some representative results, and also provide additional references for more in-depth discussions. Results on InAs/InAsSb type-II strained layer superlattice focal plane arrays for potential NASA applications are also briefly discussed.

The paper presents the method and results of low-frequency noise measurements of modern mid-wavelength infrared photodetectors. A type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice based detector with nBn barrier architecture is compared with a high operating temperature (HOT) heterojunction HgCdTe detector. All experiments were made in the range 1 Hz - 10 kHz at various temperatures by using a transimpedance detection system, which is examined in detail. The power spectral density of the nBn’s dark current noise includes Lorentzians with different time constants while the HgCdTe photodiode has more uniform 1/f - shaped spectra. For small bias, the low-frequency noise power spectra of both devices were found to scale linearly with bias voltage squared and were connected with the fluctuations of the leakage resistance. Leakage resistance noise defines the lower noise limit of a photodetector. Other dark current components give raise to the increase of low-frequency noise above this limit. For the same voltage biasing devices, the absolute noise power densities at 1 Hz in nBn are 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower than in a MCT HgCdTe detector. In spite of this, low-frequency performance of the HgCdTe detector at ~ 230K is still better than that of InAs/GaSb superlattice nBn detector.

The paper presents the effect of ICP-RIE etching time using one-component plasma on various parameters of an InAs/GaSb type II superlattice matrix. In the studies, two samples used at different BCl3 gas flow rates were compared and it was found that using a lower flow rate of 7 sccm results in obtaining a smoother sidewall morphology. Next, five periodic mesa-shaped structures were etched under identical conditions, but using a different time. The results indicated that the ICP-RIE method using a BCl3 flow rate of 7 sccm, ICP:RIE power ratio of 300W:270W allowed the ICP:RIE formation of a periodic mesa-shaped structure with smooth and perpendicular sidewalls.

In this paper, we present the electrical and electro-optical characterizations of an InAs/GaSb type-2 superlattice barrier photodetector operating in the full longwave infrared spectral domain. The fabricated detectors exhibited a 50% cut-off wavelength around 14 μm at 80 K and a quantum efficiency slightly above 20%. The dark current density was of 4.6 × 10 2 A/cm2 at 80 K and a minority carrier lateral diffusion was evaluated through dark current measurements on different detector sizes. In addition, detector spectral response, its dark current-voltage characteristics and capacitance-voltage curve accompanied by electric field simulations were analyzed in order to determine the operating bias and the dark current regimes at different biases. Finally, dark current simulations were also performed to estimate a minority carrier lifetime by comparing experimental curves with simulated ones.

In the past ten years, InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice has emerged as a promising technology for high-temperature mid-wave infrared photodetector. Nevertheless, transport properties are still poorly understood in this type of material. In this paper, optical and electro-optical measurements have been realised on InAs/InAsSb type-II superlattice mid-wave infrared photodetectors. Quantum efficiency of 50% is measured at 150 K, on the front side illumination and simple pass configuration. Absorption measurement, as well as lifetime measurement are used to theoretically calculate the quantum efficiency thanks to Hovel’s equation. Diffusion length values have been extracted from this model ranging from 1.55 µm at 90 K to 7.44 µm at 200 K. Hole mobility values, deduced from both diffusion length and lifetime measurements, varied from 3.64 cm²/Vs at 90 K to 37.7 cm²/Vs at 200 K. The authors then discuss the hole diffusion length and mobility variations within temperature and try to identify the intrinsic transport mechanisms involved in the superlattice structure.

In this work, the authors investigated the influence of proton-irradiation on the dark current of XBp longwave infrared InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice barrier detectors, showing a cut-off wavelength from 11 µm to 13 µm at 80 K. The proton irradiations were performed with 63 MeV protons and fluences up to 8∙1011 H+/cm² on a type-II superlattice detector kept at cryogenic (100 K) or room temperature (300 K). The irradiation temperature of the detector is a key parameter influencing the effects of proton irradiation. The dark current density increases due to displacement damage dose effects and this increase is more important when the detector is proton-irradiated at room temperature rather than at cryogenic temperature.

Numerical analysis of the dark current (Jd) in the type-II superlattice (T2SL) barrier (nBn) detector operated at high temperatures was presented. Theoretical calculations were compared with the experimental results for the nBn detector with the absorber and contact layers in an InAs/InAsSb superlattice separated AlAsSb barrier. Detector structure was grown using MBE technique on a GaAs substrate. The k p model was used to determine the first electron band and the first heavy and light hole bands in T2SL, as well as to calculate the absorption coefficient. The paper presents the effect of the additional hole barrier on electrical and optical parameters of the nBn structure. According to the principle of the nBn detector operation, the electrons barrier is to prevent the current flow from the contact layer to the absorber, while the holes barrier should be low enough to ensure the flow of optically generated carriers. The barrier height in the valence band (VB) was adjusted by changing the electron affinity of a ternary AlAsSb material. Results of numerical calculations similar to the experimental data were obtained, assuming the presence of a high barrier in VB which, at the same time, lowered the detector current responsivity.

Dual-band infrared detector, which acquires more image information than single-band detectors, has excellent detection, recognition, and identification capabilities. The dual-band detector can have two bumps to connect with each absorber layer, but it is difficult to implement small pitch focal plane arrays and its fabrication process is complicated. Therefore, the most effective way for a dual-band detector is to acquire each band by bias-selectable with one bump. To aim this, a dual-band MWIR/LWIR detector based on an InAs/GaSb type-II superlattice nBn structure was designed and its performance was evaluated in this work. Since two absorber layers were separated by the barrier layer, each band can be detected by bias-selectable with one bump. The fabricated dual-band device exhibited the dark current and spectral response characteristics of MWIR and LWIR bands under negative and positive bias, respectively. Spectral crosstalk that is a major issue in dual-band detectors was also improved. Finally, a 20 μm pitch 640 × 512 dual-band detector was fabricated, and both MWIR and LWIR images exhibited an average noise equivalent temperature difference of 30 mK or less at 80 K.

The sensitivity of III-V-based infrared detectors is critically dependent upon the carrier concentration and mobility of the absorber layer, and thus, accurate knowledge of each is required to design structures for maximum detector performance. Here, measurements of the bulk in-plane resistivity, in-plane mobility, and carrier concentration as a function of temperature are reported for non-intentionally doped and Si-doped mid-wave infrared InAs0.91Sb0.09 alloy and InAs/InAs0.65Sb0.35 type-II superlattice materials grown on GaSb substrates. Standard temperature- and magnetic-field-dependent resistivity and the Hall measurements on mesa samples in the van der Pauw configuration are performed, and multi-carrier fitting and modelling are used to isolate transport of each carrier species. The results show that up to 5 carrier species of the surface, interface and bulk variety contribute to conduction, with bulk electron and hole mobility up to 2·105 cm2/V s and 8·103 cm2/V s, respectively and background dopant concentration levels were between 1014 and 1015 cm−3. The in-plane mobility temperatures dependence is determined and trends of each carrier species with temperature and dose are analysed.

The hyperspectral thermal imaging instrument for technology demonstration funded by NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office under the In-Space Validation of Earth Science Technologies program requires focal plane array with reasonably good performance at a low cost. The instrument is designed to fit in a 6U CubeSat platform for a low-Earth orbit. It will collect data on hydrological parameters and Earth surface temperature for agricultural remote sensing. The long wavelength infrared type-II strain layer superlattices barrier infrared detector focal plane array is chosen for this mission. With the driving requirement dictated by the power consumption of the cryocooler and signal-noise-ratio, cut-off wavelengths and dark current are utilized to model instrument operating temperature. Many focal plane arrays are fabricated and characterised, and the best performing focal plane array that fulfils the requirements is selected. The spectral band, dark current and 8–9.4 m pass band quantum efficiency of the candidate focal plane array are: 8–10.7 m, 2.1∙10−5 A/cm2, and 47%, respectively. The corresponding noise equivalent difference temperature and operability are 30 mK and 99.7%, respectively. Anti-reflective coating is deposited on the focal plane array surface to enhance the quantum efficiency and to reduce the interference pattern due to an absorption layer parallel surfaces cladding material.

This paper presents results of the characterisation of type I GaSb/AlSb superlattices (SLs) with a thin GaSb layer and varying thicknesses of an AlSb layer. Nextnano software was utilized to obtain spectral dependence of absorption and energy band structure. A superlattice (SL) with an energy bandgap of ~ 1.0 eV and reduced mismatch value was selected for experimental investigation. SLs with single (sample A) and double (sample B) AlSb barriers and a single AlSb layer (sample C) were fabricated using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Optical microscopy, high-resolution X-ray diffractometry, and photoluminescence were utilized for structural and optical characterisation. The presence of satellite and interference peaks in diffraction curves confirms the high crystal quality of superlattices. Photoluminescence signal associated with the superlattice was observed only for sample B and contained three low-intensity peaks: 1.03, 1.18, and 1.25 eV. The first peak was identified as the value of the energy bandgap of the SL. Other two peaks are related to optical transitions between defect states located at the interface between the SL and the top AlSb barrier. The time-dependent changes observed in the spectral characteristics are due to a modification of the SL/AlSb interface caused by the oxidation and hydroxylation of the AlSb layer.