Temperature dependence of breakdown and avalanche multiplication in In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As diodes and heterojunction bipolar transistors

The avalanche multiplication and impact ionization coefficients in In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n and n-i-p diodes over a range of temperature from 20-400 K were measured and shown to have negative temperature dependence. This is contrary to the positive temperature dependence of the breakdown voltage measured on InP/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) in this and previous works. It is shown that the collector-base dark current and current gain can be the overriding influence on the temperature dependence of breakdown in InP/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As HBTs and could explain previous anomalous interpretations from the latter.     

Ultralow leakage In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n photodetector grown on linearly graded metamorphic In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/P buffered GaAs substrate

A novel top-illuminated In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n photodiodes (MM-PINPD) grown on GaAs substrate by using linearly graded metamorphic In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/P (x graded from 0.49 to 1) buffer layer is reported. The dark current, optical responsivities, noise equivalent power, and operational bandwidth of the MM-PINPD with aperture diameter of 60 /spl mu/m are 13 pA, 0.6 A/W, 3.4/spl times/10/sup -15/ W/Hz/sup 1/2/, and 7.5 GHz, respectively, at 1550 nm. The performances of the MM-PINPD on GaAs are demonstrated to be comparable to those of a similar device made on InGaAs-InP substrate.     

10-gb/s operation of an In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n photodiode on metamorphic InGaP buffered semi-insulating GaAs substrate

The SONET OC-192 receiving performance of In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As p-i-n photodiode grown on linearly graded metamorphic In/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/P buffered GaAs substrate is reported. With a low-cost TO-46 package, such a device exhibits a frequency bandwidth up to 8 GHz, a bit-error rate (BER) of 10/sup -9/ at 10 Gb/s, a sensitivity of -17.8 dBm, and a noise equivalent power of 3.4/spl times/10/sup -15/ W/Hz/sup 1/2/ owing to its ultralow dark current of 3.6/spl times/10/sup -7/ A/cm/sup 2/. Eye diagram analysis at 10 Gb/s without transimpedance amplification reveals a statistically distributed Q-factor of 8.21, corresponding to a minimum BER of 1.1/spl times/10/sup -16/ at receiving power of -6 dBm.     

MESFET-like transferred-electron devices in In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As

In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As transferred-electron devices with Schottky-gate electrodes were fabricated. These devices can be used in optoelectronic circuits on InP or as millimetre wave oscillators. For the realisation of the gate electrode several enhancement layers were tested to increase the Schottky barrier height on In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As. The triggering of single dipole domains in the device was demonstrated.<>     

A 1 cm/spl times/1 cm In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As avalanche photodiode array

We report a 1 cm/spl times/1 cm array of 100 In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As avalanche photodiodes (APD). The average breakdown voltage was 28.7 V with a standard deviation of less than 0.5 V. The distribution of breakdown voltage across the area followed a radial pattern consistent with a slight epitaxial growth nonuniformity. The mean dark current at a gain of 10, or 6.1 A/W, was 10.3 nA, and none of the 100 APDs had a dark current of more than 25 nA. The bandwidth at a gain of 10 was 6.2 GHz, and the maximum gain-bandwidth product was 140 GHz. This technology is ideally suited for next-generation three-dimensional imaging applications.     

Threshold voltage of submicron Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As HIGFETs

Presents threshold voltage data for Al/sub 0.48/In/sub 0.52/As/Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As/InP heterostructure insulated gate FETs (HIGFETs) with gate lengths from 1.2 mu m to 0.4 mu m. The refractory-gate, self-aligned fabrication process was applied to MBE-grown structures with 300 AA Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As channels and semi-insulating superlattice buffers to achieve sharp pinchoff with excellent threshold uniformity. HIGFETs with L/sub g/=1.2 mu m showed a threshold voltage of -0.076+or-0.019 V, making them well-suited to application in direct-coupled FET logic (DCFL) circuits.<>     

Long-wavelength In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As large-area avalanche photodiodes and arrays

Large-area (500-/spl mu/m diameter) mesa-structure In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As avalanche photodiodes (APDs) are reported. The dark current density was /spl sim/2.5/spl times/10/sup -2/ nA//spl mu/m/sup 2/ at 90% of breakdown; low surface leakage current density (/spl sim/4.2 pA//spl mu/m) was achieved with wet chemical etching and SiO/sub 2/ passivation. An 18 /spl times/ 18 APD array with uniform distributions of breakdown voltage, dark current, and multiplication gain has also been demonstrated. The APDs in the array achieved 3-dB bandwidth of /spl sim/8 GHz at low gain and a gain-bandwidth product of /spl sim/120 GHz.     

High-performance In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As thermophotovoltaic devices grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy

In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-based monolithic interconnected modules (MIMs) of thermophotovoltaic (TPV) devices lattice-matched to InP were grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy. The MIM device consisted of ten individual In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As TPV cells connected in series on an InP substrate. An open-circuit voltage (V/sub oc/) of 4.82 V, short-circuit current density (J/sub sc/) of 1.03 A/cm/sup 2/ and fill factor of /spl sim/73% were achieved for a ten-junction MIM with a bandgap of 0.74 eV under high intensity white light illumination. Device performance uniformity was better than 1.5% across a full 2-in InP wafer. The V/sub oc/ and J/sub sc/ values are the highest yet reported for 0.74-eV band gap n-p-n MIM devices.     

A 12 /spl times/ 12 In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As avalanche photodiode array

We report a 12 /spl times/ 12 In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As avalanche photodiode (APD) array. The mean breakdown voltage of the APD was 57.9 V and the standard deviation was less than 0.1 V. The mean dark current was /spl sim/2 and /spl sim/300 nA, and the standard deviation was /spl sim/0.19 and /spl sim/60 nA at unity gain (V/sub bias/ = 13.5 V) and at 90% of the breakdown voltage, respectively. External quantum efficiency was above 40% in the wavelength range from 1.0 to 1.6 /spl mu/m. It was /spl sim/57% and /spl sim/45% at 1.3 and 1.55 /spl mu/m, respectively. A bandwidth of 13 GHz was achieved at low gain.     

Direct optical injection locking of monolithically integrated In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As MODFET oscillators

The authors have fabricated monolithically integrated In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As 0.25 mu m gate modulation-doped field effect transistor (MODFET) oscillators. The results of direct optical subharmonic injection locking of these oscillator circuits at 10.159 and 19.033 GHz are presented.<>     

Negative differential resistance of GaAs/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As multiquantum well structures under high power photoexcitation: structure optimisation for an oscillator

A study is presented of the photocurrent behaviour of p-i-n diodes having GaAs/Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As MQW absorption regions for varying incident power, incident wavelength and barrier height, given by the Al fraction x. Optimum results for applications in high power oscillators are expected to be obtained for 0.1>     

Optimized breakdown probabilities in Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As-GaAs heterojunction avalanche photodiodes

Recently, it has been shown that the noise characteristics of heterojunction Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As-GaAs avalanche photodiodes (APDs) can be optimized by proper selection of the width of the Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As layer. Similar trends have also been shown theoretically for the bandwidth characteristics. The resulting noise reduction and potential bandwidth enhancement have been attributed to the fact that the high bandgap Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As layer serves to energize the injected electrons, thereby minimizing their first dead space in the GaAs layer. We show theoretically that the same optimized structures yield optimal breakdown-probability characteristics when the APD is operated in Geiger mode. The steep breakdown-probability characteristics, as a function of the excess bias, of thick multiplication regions (e.g., in a 1000-nm GaAs homojunction) can be mimicked in much thinner optimized Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As-GaAs APDs (e.g., in a 40-nm Al/sub 0.6/Ga/sub 0.4/As and 200-nm GaAs structure) with the added advantage of having a reduced breakdown voltage (e.g., from 36.5 V to 13.7 V).     

Optical tuning of monolithic In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As/InP modulation-doped field-effect transistor oscillators at X and R band

The authors have experimentally studied the optical control and optical tuning characteristics of monolithically integrated In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As/In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As modulation-doped field-effect transistor (MODFET) oscillators operating in the X and R bands. For a 20 mu W intrinsic photoexcitation on the device, the maximum frequency shift for the X- and R-band oscillators was 8.7 and 11.7 MHz, respectively.<>     

Metal-semiconductor-metal photodetector on p-type In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As

An MSM Schottky barrier photodetector based on p-type In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As suitable for detection in the 0.8-1.7 wavelength range is reported. Aluminium metallisation was used. The large area devices exhibited responsivity of about 0.4 A/W at 1.3 mu m and tau /sub on/>     

High bandwidth and low-leakage current InP-In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-InP DBHTs on GaAs substrates

InP-In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As-InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (DHBTs) were grown on GaAs substrates. A 284-GHz power-gain cutoff frequency f/sub max/ and a 216-GHz current-gain cutoff frequency f/sub /spl tau// were obtained, presently the highest reported values for metamorphic HBTs. The breakdown voltage BV/sub CEO/ was >5 V while the dc current gain /spl beta/ was 21. High thermal conductivity InP metamorphic buffer layers were employed in order to minimize the device thermal resistance.     

Avalanche noise characteristics of single Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As(0.3

Groves  C. Chia  C.K. Tozer  R.C. David  J.P.R. Rees  G.J. 《Quantum Electronics, IEEE Journal of》2005,41(1):70-75

50-nm T-gate metamorphic GaAs HEMTs with f/sub T/ of 440 GHz and noise figure of 0.7 dB at 26 GHz

GaAs-based transistors with the highest f/sub T/ and lowest noise figure reported to date are presented in this letter. A 50-nm T-gate In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As metamorphic high-electron mobility transistors (mHEMTs) on a GaAs substrate show f/sub T/ of 440 GHz, f/sub max/ of 400 GHz, a minimum noise figure of 0.7 dB and an associated gain of 13 dB at 26 GHz, the latter at a drain current of 185 mA/mm and g/sub m/ of 950 mS/mm. In addition, a noise figure of below 1.2 dB with 10.5 dB or higher associated gain at 26 GHz was demonstrated for drain currents in the range 40 to 470 mA/mm at a drain bias of 0.8 V. These devices are ideal for low noise and medium power applications at millimeter-wave frequencies.     

Double heterojunction bipolar transistor in Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs/sub 1-y/Sb/sub y/ system

Double heterojunction bipolar transistors based on the Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As/GaAs/sub 1-y/Sb/sub y/ system are examined. The base layer consists of narrow band gap GaAs/sub 1-y/Sb/sub y/ and the emitter and collector consist of wider band gap Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/As. Preliminary experimental results show that AlGaAs/GaAsSb/GaAs DHBTs exhibit a current gain of five and a maximum collector current density of 5*10/sup 4/ A/cm/sup 2/.<>     

Low dark current quasi-Schottky barrier MSM-photodiode structures on n-Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As with p/sup +/-Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As cap layer

The p/sup +/-cap layer was used to fabricate a metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) interdigitated photodetector on Ga/sub 0.47/In/sub 0.53/As. The measured barrier height was Phi /sub Bn=/0.52 V, the ideality factor n=1.1 and average dark current density 2 mA/cm/sup 2/. A rise time of 45 ps at lambda =1.3 mu m under 2 V bias was measured for an MSM photodiode with 3 mu m finger width and finger gaps and an active area of 100*100 mu m/sup 2/.<>     

Reduction of 1/f noise in multiplexed linear In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As detector arrays via epitaxial doping

A significant (2-5*) reduction in 1/f noise was observed in In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As photodetector arrays read out by a PMOS multiplexer, when the epitaxial InP cap layer doping was changed from undoped to sulfur-doped n type of about 3*10/sup 16/ cm/sup -3/. A further decrease was observed when the InP buffer layer was also changed from undoped to sulfur-doped n type of about 5*10/sup 17/ cm/sup -3/. Data was presented for the variation of 1/f noise, within a temperature range of 18 degrees C to -40 degrees C. Surface states at the InP cap/SiN interface appears to be the primary source of 1/f noise, with the bulk states at the n/sup -/In/sub 0.53/Ga/sub 0.47/As buffer hetero-interface as a secondary source. Increased n-type doping in the high-bandgap InP cap and buffer layers may reduce electron trapping, and thus 1/f noise. The measured noise spectrum of InGaAs photodetectors varies as f/sup y/ with y being approximately -0.45 for device structures with doped and undoped InP can layers. For a doped InP buffer layer, this value of y is -0.3.<>