Very long wave infrared quantum cascade detector with a twin-well absorption region

Abstract

We report a very long wave (14  μm) infrared quantum cascade detector based on a twin-well coupled absorption region operating at temperatures up to 130 K. By introducing two coupled absorption quantum wells that have the same width, the absorption strength and responsivity of the detector are increased relative to the single-well design. At 77 K, we observe a responsivity of 4.06 mA/W at zero bias, which is 4.27 times that of the single-well counterpart. The responsivity is further optimized for reverse bias operation, so that the obstruction of space charge field to electron transport is compensated. The photocurrent reaches a maximum value at 77 K for an applied bias of −1.3 V, and responsivity as high as 23.76 mA/W, which is 5.85 times that under zero bias, is obtained.