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Optoelectronic Transport Properties of Nanostructured Multi-Quantum Well InAs/GaSb Type II LWIR and MWIR Detectors

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Abstract

We report in this study the optoelectronic properties of mid- and long-wave infrared type II multiple quantum wells (MQWs) of InAs(d1)/GaSb(d2) using our enhanced envelope function formalism at low temperature. We have investigated the band structure energy subbands and carrier effective mass m*/m0 of the MQWs in the growth direction and in-plane. The relationship between semiconductor-to-semimetal (SC–SM) transition and well thickness d1 were analyzed. Furthermore, we studied and interpreted the evolution of the photodetector parameters including fundamental band gap, corresponding cutoff wavelength λc and electron effective mass as a function of the well thickness d1, valence band offset Λ, ratio R = d1/d2 and temperature. We calculated the electronic transport parameters including transport scattering time, Fermi velocity and mean free path for the three investigated MQWs. The studied systems show a direct band gap, and the result of cutoff wavelength in the studied temperature range of 5 K to 300 K indicates that they are mid- and long-wave infrared detectors. We found that the band gap energy is highly dependent on d1. The results of density of states (DOS) and Fermi level energy (EF) show that the conductivity of the system varies from p-type to n-type following the increase in well thickness d1. Our theoretical findings are in good agreement with the available experimental measurements in previous studies, and they provide a route for future improvements in the engineering of infrared devices.

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  1. Laboratory of Condensed Matter Physics and Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy, University Ibn Zohr, 80000, Agadir, Morocco

    Merieme Benaadad, Abdelhakim Nafidi, Samir Melkoud, Driss Barkissy & Essediq Youssef El Yakoubi

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  1. Merieme Benaadad
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Benaadad, M., Nafidi, A., Melkoud, S. et al. Optoelectronic Transport Properties of Nanostructured Multi-Quantum Well InAs/GaSb Type II LWIR and MWIR Detectors. J. Electron. Mater. 51, 6835–6845 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-022-09906-y

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