Design and development of SiGe based near-infrared photodetectors

John W. Zeller; Yash R. Puri; Ashok K. Sood; Shane McMahon; Harry Efsthadiatis; Pradeep Haldar; Nibir K. Dhar

doi:10.1117/12.2083538

7 October 2014 Design and development of SiGe based near-infrared photodetectors

John W. Zeller, Yash R. Puri, Ashok K. Sood, Shane McMahon, Harry Efsthadiatis, Pradeep Haldar, Nibir K. Dhar

Proceedings Volume 9220, Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications IV; 922006 (2014) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2083538
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2014, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Near-infrared (NIR) sensors operating at room temperatures are critical for a variety of commercial and military applications including detecting mortar fire and muzzle flashes. SiGe technology offers a low-cost alternative to conventional IR sensor technologies such as InGaAs, InSb, and HgCdTe for developing NIR micro-sensors that will not require any cooling and can operate with high bandwidths and comparatively low dark currents. Since Ge has a larger thermal expansion coefficient than Si, tensile strain may be incorporated into detector devices during the growth process, enabling an extended operating wavelength range above 1600 nm. SiGe based pin photodetectors have advantages of high stability, low noise, and high responsivity compared to metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) devices. We have developed a process flow and are fabricating SiGe detector devices on 12” (300 mm) silicon wafers in order to take advantage of high throughput, large-area leading-edge silicon based CMOS technology that provides small feature sizes with associated device cost/density scaling advantages. The fabrication of the detector devices is facilitated by a two-step growth process incorporating initial low temperature growth of Ge/SiGe to form a thin strain-relaxed layer, followed by high temperature growth to deposit a thicker absorbing film, and subsequent high temperature anneal. This growth process is designed to effectively reduce dark current and enhance detector performance by reducing the number of defects and threading dislocations which form recombination centers during the growth process. Various characterization techniques have been employed to determine the properties of the epitaxially deposited Ge/SiGe layers, and the corresponding results are discussed.

Citation Download Citation

John W. Zeller, Yash R. Puri, Ashok K. Sood, Shane McMahon, Harry Efsthadiatis, Pradeep Haldar, and Nibir K. Dhar "Design and development of SiGe based near-infrared photodetectors", Proc. SPIE 9220, Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications IV, 922006 (7 October 2014); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2083538

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