High-speed photodiodes for the mid-infrared spectral region 1.2–2.4 μm based on GaSb/GaInAsSb/GaAlAsSb heterostructures with a transmission band of 2–5 GHz

Abstract

High-speed p-i-n photodiodes for the spectral range of 1.2–2.4 μm are fabricated for the first time based on a GaAs/GaInAsSb/GaAlAsSb heterostructure with separated sensitive-(50 μm in diameter) and contact mesas, which are connected by a bridge front contact. The use of an unconventional design for the contact mesa with a Si₃N₄ insulating sublayer 0.3 μm thick under the metal contact made it possible to lower both the intrinsic photodiode capacitance and the reverse dark currents. The photodiodes have a low intrinsic capacitance of 3–5 pF at zero bias and 0.8–1.5 pF at a reverse bias of 3.0 V. The photodiode operating speed, which is determined by the time of increasing the photoresponse pulse to a level of 0.1–0.9, is 50–100 ps. The transmission band of the photodiodes reaches 2–5 GHz. The photodiodes are characterized by low reverse dark currents I _d = 200–1500 nA with a reverse bias of U = −(0.5–3.0) V, a high current monochromatic sensitivity of R _i = 1.10–1.15 A/W, and a detectability of D*(λ_max, 1000, 1) = 0.9 × 10¹¹ W⁻¹ cm Hz^1/2 at wavelengths of 2.0–2.2 μm.