Modelling and fabrication of wide temperature range Al0.24Ga0.76As/GaAs Hall magnetic sensors

Silicon Hall-effect sensors have been widely used in industry and research fields due to their straightforward fabrication process and CMOS compatibility. However, as their material property limitations, technicians usually implement complex CMOS circuits to improve the sensors’ performance including temperature drift and offset compensation for fitting tough situation, but it is no doubt that it increases the design complexity and the sensor area. Gallium arsenide (GaAs) is a superior material of Hall-effect device because of its large mobility and stable temperature characteristics. Concerning there is no specified modelling of GaAs Hall-effect device, this paper investigated its modelling by using finite element method (FEM) software Silvaco TCAD^® to help and guide GaAs Hall-effect device fabrication. The modeled sensor has been fabricated and its experimental results are in agreement with the simulation results. Comparing to our previous silicon Hall-effect sensor, the GaAs Hall-effect sensor demonstrates potential and reliable benchmark for the future Hall magnetic sensor developments.     

Hot electron energy relaxation via acoustic phonon emission in GaAs/Al0.24Ga0.76As single and multiple quantum wells

The energy relaxation associated with acoustic phonons has been investigated in a series of modulation doped GaAs/AlGaAs single and multiple quantum wells grown by molecular beam epitaxy, using the hot electron Shubnikov — de Haas effect. The power loss is shown to be proportional to (T_e² − T_L²) for electron temperatures 2.2K < T_e < 8K and proportional to (T_e³ − T_L³) for 8K < T_e < 20K. The energy loss rates due to acoustic phonon scattering via both deformation potential coupling and piezoelectric coupling have been calculated. The total energy loss rate as a function of electron temperature is compared with the experimental results. Good agreement is obtained for 2.2K < T_e < 8K. Above 8K the energy loss rate is seen to rise above the predicted values, indicating the onset of an extra energy relaxation mechanism. The application of a high electric field (E = 3kV/cm) at low lattice temperatures is shown to induce persistent parallel conduction and a subsequent reduction of the low field well mobility.     

Fabrication of In0.25Ga0.75As/InGaAsPstrained SQW lasers on In0.05Ga0.95As ternarysubstrate

A uniform In_0.05Ga_0.95As ternary substrate was grown by using liquid encapsulated Czochralski (LEC) technique with a method of supplying GaAs source material at a constant temperature, and InGaAs/InGaAsP strained single quantum well (SQW) lasers were fabricated on the substrate for the first time. The lasers lased at 1.03 μm and exhibited low threshold current density of 222 A/cm² and excellent characteristic temperature of 221 K, showing that the ternary substrate has a sufficient quality for laser fabrication     

High performance Al0.35Ga0.65As/GaAs HBT's

AlGaAs emitter heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) are demonstrated to have excellent dc and RF properties comparable to InGaP/GaAs HBTs by increasing the Al composition. Al_0.35Ga _0.65As/GaAs HBTs exhibit very high dc current gain at all bias levels, exceeding 140 at 25 A/cm² and reaching a maximum of 210 at 26 kA/cm² (L=1.4 μm×3 μm, R_sb=330 Ω/□). The temperature dependence of the peak dc current gain is also significantly improved by increasing the AlGaAs mole fraction of the emitter. Device analysis suggests that a larger emitter energy gap contributes to the improved device performance by both lowering space charge recombination and increasing the barrier to reverse hole injection     

Theoretical investigation of gain enhancements in strainedIn0.35Ga0.65As/GaAs MQW lasers via p-doping

We present a systematic theoretical investigation of the influence of p-doping on the gain characteristics of strained In_0.35Ga _0.65As/GaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) lasers, and compare the results with those obtained experimentally from devices with record 30 GHz modulation bandwidths. Experimentally, the combination of p-doping and strain has been found to lead to only a small increase in the differential gain, ∂g/∂n, but a large decrease in the non-linear gain coefficient, ϵ; this behaviour has been theoretically accounted for by a doping-induced decrease in the intraband relaxation time, τ_in. The theoretical investigations reveal that the assumption of a constant intraband relaxation time is not sufficient to describe the role of p-doping in the above devices, and highlight the importance of utilizing an appropriate lineshape function for the modelling of high speed laser modulation behaviour     

Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs HEMT's under opticalillumination

Theoretical and experimental work for the DC and RF performance of depletion mode Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs HEMTs under optical illumination is presented. The photoconductive effect increasing the 2-DEG channel electron concentration and photovoltaic effect in the gate junction are considered. Optical tuning of a 2 GHz HEMT oscillator and optical control of the gain of a 2 to 6 GHz HEMT amplifier are presented and potential applications are described     

Spectral characteristics ofsingle-In0.7Ga0.3As quantum-well microring lasers

Low-threshold optically pumped microring and disk lasers containing a single compressive strained In0.7Ga_0.3As quantum well are characterized. Strong bandfilling in single quantum wells is used to show saturation of the background spontaneous emission in microrings compared with comparable microdisks. The continuous wave threshold pump power for a microring is as low as 2 μW (3 W/cm² ) at liquid nitrogen temperatures. The lasers operate multimoded with wavelengths determined by whispering gallery modes of several orders     

Tunneling between two quantum wells: In0.53Ga0.47As/InP versus GaAs/Al0.35Ga0.65As

The electron transfer from a narrow to a wide quantum well through a thin barrier is studied in the non-resonant case by time-resolved photoluminescence. The two systems In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP and GaAs/Al_0.35Ga_0.65As are compared. Space charge effects are investigated and discussed. Contributions of holes to the tunneling process are determined.     

Quantum-well Hall devices in Si-delta-dopedAl0.25Ga0.75As/GaAs and pseudomorphic Al0.25Ga0.75As/In0.25Ga0.75As/GaAsheterostructures grown by LP-MOCVD: performance comparisons

Characterized herein are quantum-well Hall devices in Si-delta-doped Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/GaAs and pseudomorphic Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/In_0.25Ga _0.75As/GaAs heterostructures, grown by low-pressure metal organic chemical vapor deposition method. The Si-delta-doping technique has been applied to quantum-well Hall devices for the first time. As a result high electron mobilities of 8100 cm^-2/V·s with a sheet electron density of 1.5×10¹² cm^-2 in Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/In_0.25Ga_0.75 As/GaAs structure and of 6000 cm^-2/V·s with the sheet electron density of 1.2×10¹² cm^-2 in Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/GaAs structure have been achieved at room temperature, respectively. From Hall devices in Al_0.25Ga_0.75As/In_0.25Ga_0.75 As structure, the product sensitivity of 420 V/AT with temperature coefficient of -0.015 %/K has been obtained. This temperature characteristic is one of the best result reported. Additionally, a high signal-to-noise ratio corresponding to the minimum detectable magnetic field of 45 nT at 1 kHz and 75 nT at 100 Hz has been attained. These resolutions are among the best reported results     

Modeling of short-pulse threshold voltage shifts due to DX centersin AlxGa1-xAs/GaAs and AlxGa1-xAs/InyGa1-yAs MODFET's

The DX-center-related short-pulse threshold voltage shifts (SPTVS) in Al_xGa_1-xAs-based MODFETs is modeled using CBAND, a simulator that solves Poisson equations self-consistently with Schrodinger equations and donor statistics. Using values given in the literature for the DX energy level in Al_xGa_1-xAs this technique gives good agreement between measured and simulated SPTVS for Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs and Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/In_0.2Ga_0.8As MODFETs. Both simulation and experiment show that the use of Al_0.2 Ga_0.8As in the donor layer reduces the SPTVS relative to the structures using Al_0.3Ga_0.7As. However, the measured shifts at this composition are considerably lower than the simulated values, indicating a DX energy level that may be higher than the value extrapolated from the literature, possibly due to the existence of multiple trap levels. Despite this discrepancy, these results support the use of strained-channel layers and lower Al_x Ga_1-xAs compositions in MODFETs for digital and other large-signal applications requiring good threshold stability     

Backgating in pseudomorphic In0.15Ga0.85As/Al0.25Ga0.75As MODFET's with a GaAs:Er buffer layer

A new GaAs:Er buffer layer grown by MBE has been developed which significantly reduces backgating currents (by 3 to 4 orders of magnitude) in pseudomorphic InGaAs/AlGaAs modulation-doped field effect transistors (MODFET's). The buffer layer is highly resistive, in the 10 ²-10⁵ Ω·cm range over the Er-doping range investigated. Presence of internal Schottky barriers resulting from high-density ErAs precipitates has been proposed to he the cause of the high resistivity     

Metamorphic In0.4Al0.6As/In0.4Ga0.6As HEMTs on GaAs substrate

New In_0.4Al_0.6As/In_0.4Ga_0.6 As metamorphic (MM) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been successfully fabricated on GaAs substrate with T-shaped gate lengths varying from 0.1 to 0.25 μm. The Schottky characteristics are a forward turn-on voltage of 0.7 V and a gate breakdown voltage of -10.5 V. These new MM-HEMTs exhibit typical drain currents of 600 mA/mm and extrinsic transconductance superior to 720 mS/mm. An extrinsic current cutoff frequency f_T of 195 GHz is achieved with the 0.1-μm gate length device. These results are the first reported for In_0.4 Al_0.6As/In_0.4Ga_0.6As MM-HEMTs on GaAs substrate     

Long-wavelength In0.53Ga0.47As metamorphicp-i-n photodiodes on GaAs substrates

Metamorphic In_0.53Ga_0.47As p-i-n photodiodes on GaAs substrate exhibiting the lowest dark current ever reported were fabricated and characterized. Their dark current, DC and RF performances were measured and compared for devices of different sizes. Typical dark current for 15-μm-diameter devices was 600 pA under 5-V reverse bias, corresponding to a dark current density of 3.40×10^-4 A/cm². Typical responsivity measured with 1.55-μm optical radiation was 0.55 A/W corresponding to an external quantum efficiency of 44%. The electrical 3 dB bandwidths of the photodiodes with diameters smaller than 20 μm were over 20 GHz     

Observation of negative differential resistance inAl0.2Ga0.8As/Al0.4Ga0.6As/GaAs double barrier resonant tunnelling structure

Negative differential resistance has been observed in the current/voltage characteristics of a double barrier resonant tunnelling structure with Al_0.2Ga_0.8As emitters, Al_0.4 Ga_0.6As barriers and GaAs quantum well for the first time. The NDR becomes clear at low temperatures below 77 K, and the current/voltage characteristic is asymmetric. Results demonstrate that high-quality abrupt GaAs-Al_xGa_1-xAs-Al_yGa_1-yAs heterojunctions can be of use in resonant tunnelling structures     

Influence of quantum-well width on device performance ofAl0.30Ga0.70As/In0.25Ga0.75As (on GaAs) MODFETs

An experimental study in which the quantum well width (W) is varied from 45 to 200 Å is discussed. Optimum device performance was observed at a well width of 120 Å. The 0.2-μm×130-μm devices with 120-Å quantum-well width typically exhibit a maximum channel current density of 550 mA/mm, peak transconductance of 550 mS/mm, and peak current gain cutoff frequency ( f_T) of 122 GHz. These results have been further improved in subsequent fabrications employing a trilevel-resist mushroom-gate process. The 0.2-μm×50-μm devices with mushroom gate exhibit a peak transconductance of 640 mS/mm, peak f _T of 100 GHz, and best power gains cutoff frequency in excess of 200 GHz. These results are among the best ever reported for GaAs-based FETs and are attributed to the high two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) sheet density, good low-field mobility, low ohmic contact, and the optimized mushroom gate process     

微微秒Al_xGa_(1-x)As双异质结激光器

用宽度为300微微秒的电脉冲驱动质子轰击条形的Al_xGa_(1-x)As双异质结激光器,产生12微微秒光脉冲。并已经用来检测快速光电二极管的响应速率。     

60-GHz pseudomorphicAl0.25Ga0.75As/In0.28Ga0.72As low-noise HEMTs

V-band low-noise planar-doped pseudomorphic (PM) InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) were fabricated with an indium mole fraction of 28% in the InGaAs channel. A device with 0.15-μm T-gate achieved a minimum noise figure of 1.5 dB with an associated gain of 6.1 dB at 61.5 GHz     

High-performance InP/In0.53Ga0.47As/InPdouble HBTs on GaAs substrates

InP/In_0.53Ga_0.47As/InP double heterojunction bipolar transistors (HBTs) were grown on GaAs substrates. A 140 GHz power-gain cutoff frequency f_max and a 207 GHz current-gain cutoff frequency f_τ were obtained, presently the highest reported values for metamorphic HBTs. The breakdown voltage BV_CEO was 5.5 V, while the dc current gain β was 76. High-thermal-conductivity InP metamorphic buffer layers were employed in order to minimize the device-thermal resistance     

Band offsets of In0.30Ga0.70As/In0.29Al0.71As heterojunction grown on GaAs substrate

Temperature-dependent current-voltage measurement was employed to study the band offsets of the In_0.30Ga_0.70As/In _0.29Al_0.71As heterojunction. The conduction band discontinuity was determined to be 0.71±0.05 eV which corresponds to a conduction band offset to bandgap difference ratio ~0.66. The comparison between experimental and theoretical results is presented