Insights into optical absorption and dark currents of the 6.1 Å type-II superlattice absorbers for MWIR and SWIR applications

Abstract

A holistic computational analysis is developed to calculate the quantum efficiency of InAs/GaSb superlattice-based photodetectors. Starting with the electronic band characteristics computed by taking InSb/GaAs at the interface using the 8-band k.p approach, we demonstrate the impact of InAs and GaSb widths on the bandgap, carrier concentration, and the oscillator strength for type-II superlattice absorbers. Subsequently, the alteration of these characteristics due to the extra AlSb layer in the M superlattice absorber is investigated. Extending our models for determining TE- and TM-polarized optical absorption, our calculations reveal that the TE-polarized absorption shows a substantial influence near the conduction-heavy hole band transition energy, which eventually diminishes, owing to the dominant TM contribution due to the conduction-light hole band transition. Extending our analysis to the dark currents, we focus mainly on Schokley–Read–Hall recombination and radiative recombination at lower temperatures and show that Schokley–Read–Hall dominates at low-level injection. We show that short-wavelength and mid-wavelength M superlattice structures exhibit higher quantum efficiency than the corresponding same bandgap type-II superlattice with the lower diffusion dark current. Furthermore, we analyze the density of states blocked by the barrier, crucial for XBp photodetector after absorber examination. Our work, thus, sets a stage for a holistic and predictive theory aided analysis of the type-II superlattice absorbers, from the atomistic interfacial details all the way to the dark currents and absorption spectra.