Feasibility of achieving high detectivity at short- and mid-wavelength infrared using nanowire-plasmonic photodetectors with p-n heterojunctions

Ren, Dingkun, Rong, Zixuan, Azizur-Rahman, Khalifa M. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9797-0382, Somasundaram, Siddharth, Shahili, Mohammad and Huffaker, Diana L ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5946-4481 2018. Feasibility of achieving high detectivity at short- and mid-wavelength infrared using nanowire-plasmonic photodetectors with p-n heterojunctions. Nanotechnology 30 , 044002. 10.1088/1361-6528/aaed5c

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Abstract

Photodetection at short- and mid-wavelength infrared (SWIR and MWIR) enables various sensing systems used in heat seeking, night vision, and spectroscopy. As a result, uncooled photodetection at these wavelengths is in high demand. However, these SWIR and MWIR photodetectors often suffer from high dark current, causing them to require bulky cooling accessories for operation. In this study, we argue for the feasibility of improving the room-temperature detectivity by significantly suppressing dark current. To realize this, we propose using (1) a nanowire-based platform to reduce the photoabsorber volume, which in turn reduces trap state population and hence G-R current, and (2) p-n heterojunctions to prevent minority carrier diffusion from the large bandgap substrate into the nanowire absorber. We prove these concepts by demonstrating a comprehensive 3-D photoresponse model to explore the level of detectivity offered by vertical InAs(Sb) nanowire photodetector arrays with self-assembled plasmonic gratings. The resultant electrical simulations show that the dark current can be reduced by three to four orders at room temperature, leading to a peak detectivity greater than 3.5×1010 cm Hz1/2W-1 within the wavelength regime of 2.0 – 3.4 μm, making it comparable to the best commercial and research InAs p-i-n homojunction photodiodes. In addition, we show that the plasmonic resonance peaks can be easily tuned by simply varying the exposed nanowire height. Finally, we investigate the impact of nanowire material properties, such as carrier mobility and carrier lifetime, on the nanowire photodetector detectivity. This work provides a roadmap for the electrical design of nanowire optoelectronic devices and stimulates further experimental validation for uncooled photodetectors at SWIR and MWIR.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Physics and Astronomy
Publisher:	IOP Publishing: Hybrid Open Access
ISSN:	0957-4484
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	6 November 2018
Date of Acceptance:	1 November 2018
Last Modified:	12 Nov 2024 11:45
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/116478

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