Strain-compensated infrared photodetector and photodetector array

Patent Number: 8,450,773
Issued: 5/28/2013
Official Filing: View the Complete Patent
Abstract: A photodetector is disclosed for the detection of infrared light with a long cutoff wavelength in the range of about 4.5-10 microns. The photodetector, which can be formed on a semiconductor substrate as an nBn device, has a light absorbing region which includes InAsSb light-absorbing layers and tensile-strained layers interspersed between the InAsSb light-absorbing layers. The tensile-strained layers can be formed from GaAs, InAs, InGaAs or a combination of these III-V compound semiconductor materials. A barrier layer in the photodetector can be formed from AlAsSb or AlGaAsSb; and a contact layer in the photodetector can be formed from InAs, GaSb or InAsSb. The photodetector is useful as an individual device, or to form a focal plane array.
Filed: 7/15/2010
Application Number: 12/836,769
Government Interests: STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-NA0003525 awarded by the United States Department of Energy/National Nuclear Security Administration. The Government has certain rights in the invention.