Realising a solid state photomultiplier and infrared detectors through Bismide containing semiconductors
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Surrey
Department Name: ATI Physics
Abstract
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Publications
Broderick C
(2018)
Theory and design of In x Ga 1- x As 1- y Bi y mid-infrared semiconductor lasers: type-I quantum wells for emission beyond 3 ยต m on InP substrates
in Semiconductor Science and Technology
Broderick C
(2016)
GaAs-based dilute bismide semiconductor lasers: Theory vs. experiment
Broderick CA
(2017)
GaAs1-xBix/GaNyAs1-y type-II quantum wells: novel strain-balanced heterostructures for GaAs-based near- and mid-infrared photonics.
in Scientific reports
Bushell Z
(2017)
High-Q photonic crystal cavities in all-semiconductor photonic crystal heterostructures
in Physical Review B
Bushell Z
(2018)
Optical functions and critical points of dilute bismide alloys studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry
in Journal of Applied Physics
Bushell ZL
(2019)
Giant bowing of the band gap and spin-orbit splitting energy in GaP1-xBix dilute bismide alloys.
in Scientific reports
Chai G.M.T.
(2019)
Spectroscopic studies on InGaBiAs/InP semiconductors for mid-infrared applications
in Optics InfoBase Conference Papers
| Description | This project led to an improved understanding of the growth of new types of compound semiconductor containing bismuth. These semiconductors are of growing interest owing to their applications in higher efficiency lasers, photodetectors and photovoltaics. |
| Exploitation Route | The outputs will be used to help develop improved quality semiconductor materials for use in photonic and electronic device applications. |
| Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Chemicals Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Energy |
| Description | The work has led to further investigations and developments of the applications of photonic devices. It has contributed to one new industrial project which aims to exploit some of the knowledge gained on active region design. The project also helped establish a number of new characterisation capabilities. These have been used broadly across a range of projects (see breadth of publications list) and have also stimulated new short-term industrial projects which utilise the characterisation capabilites. |
| Sector | Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software),Electronics,Energy |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Title | MOVPE growth and characterization of quaternary (Ga,In)(As,Bi) on GaAs substrates |
| Description | The incorporation of dilute amounts of Bi into the host lattice of a III/V semiconductor has a strong influence on its electronic properties. The bandgap is strongly redshifted which makes these materials interesting for application in the near- to mid-infrared regime. Furthermore, the spin-orbit splitting is increased resulting in suppression of hot-hole producing Auger recombination, which makes the fabrication of highly efficient optical devices feasible. However, for ternary Ga(As,Bi) grown using metal organic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE), it has proven difficult to achieve the desired composition of the ternary material. Therefore, the additional incorporation of indium (In) into Ga(As,Bi), which should induce a further redshift of the bandgap, is investigated and summarized in this paper. For deposition of quaternary (Ga,In)(As,Bi), two different low temperature growth techniques using MOVPE are conducted. The strain and photoluminescence peak positions of the samples are correlated to estimate the composition of the (Ga,In)(As,Bi) layers. It was found that the trimethylindium and tertiarybutylarsine supplies need to be carefully adjusted to grow high quality bulk materials and that the incorporation of indium is inversely related to the amount of incorporated Bi. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2019 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/3378802 |
| Title | Quantifying Auger recombination coefficients in type-I mid-infrared InGaAsSb quantum well lasers |
| Description | From a systematic study of the threshold current density as a function of temperature and hydrostatic pressure, in conjunction with theoretical analysis of the gain and threshold carrier density, we have determined the wavelength dependence of the Auger recombination coefficients in InGaAsSb/GaSb quantum well lasers emitting in the 1.7-3.2 µm wavelength range. From hydrostatic pressure measurements, the non-radiative component of threshold currents for individual lasers was determined continuously as a function of wavelength. The results are analysed to determine the Auger coefficients quantitatively. This procedure involves calculating the threshold carrier density based on device properties, optical losses, and estimated Auger contribution to the total threshold current density. A strong increase with decreasing mid-infrared wavelength (< 2 µm) indicates the prominent role of intervalence Auger transitions to the split-off hole band. Above 2 µm, the increase with wavelength is approximately exponential due to CHCC or CHLH Auger recombination. The observed dependence is consistent with that derived by analysing literature values of lasing thresholds for type-I InGaAsSb quantum well diodes. Over the wavelength range considered, the Auger coefficient varies from a minimum of 1x10 -16cm 4s -1 at 2.1µm to ~8x10 -16cm 4s -1 at 3.2µm. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/3907414 |
| Title | Quantifying Auger recombination coefficients in type-I mid-infrared InGaAsSb quantum well lasers |
| Description | From a systematic study of the threshold current density as a function of temperature and hydrostatic pressure, in conjunction with theoretical analysis of the gain and threshold carrier density, we have determined the wavelength dependence of the Auger recombination coefficients in InGaAsSb/GaSb quantum well lasers emitting in the 1.7-3.2 µm wavelength range. From hydrostatic pressure measurements, the non-radiative component of threshold currents for individual lasers was determined continuously as a function of wavelength. The results are analysed to determine the Auger coefficients quantitatively. This procedure involves calculating the threshold carrier density based on device properties, optical losses, and estimated Auger contribution to the total threshold current density. A strong increase with decreasing mid-infrared wavelength (< 2 µm) indicates the prominent role of intervalence Auger transitions to the split-off hole band. Above 2 µm, the increase with wavelength is approximately exponential due to CHCC or CHLH Auger recombination. The observed dependence is consistent with that derived by analysing literature values of lasing thresholds for type-I InGaAsSb quantum well diodes. Over the wavelength range considered, the Auger coefficient varies from a minimum of 1x10 -16cm 4s -1 at 2.1µm to ~8x10 -16cm 4s -1 at 3.2µm. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| URL | https://zenodo.org/record/3907415 |
| Description | Kyoto Institute of Technology |
| Organisation | Kyoto Institute of Technology |
| Country | Japan |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | The project aimed to develop new bismuth-containing alloys for the development of photodetectors. This led to the PI developing further international collaborations to explore the opportunities for such materials in other photonic devices including photovoltaics. As part of this, the PI established a new collaboration with Professor Yoshimoto's group at Kyoto Institute of Technology in Japan. The PI was successful in obtaining JSPS funding to spend a 3 month period in Kyoto to further explore the opportunities. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The partners in Kyoto have contributed in our understanding of new classes of semconductors including bismuth and nitrogen. We have worked together to develop this material and expect the first publications to arise from this soon. As part of this, Kyoto Institute of Technology hosted the PI's 3 month stay in Japan and also successfully appleid for EU funding to support work at the Ion-Beam Centre at the University of Surrey. |
| Impact | JSPS International Invitational Fellowship (for the PI) Joint conference presentations at the international Mid-infrared Optoelectronic Materials and Devices (MIOMD) conference (2021). RADIATE project for collaboration between KIT and Surrey |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Title | Light Emitting Semiconductor Device |
| Description | This patent concerns the use of bismuth containing alloys to produce high efficiency photonic devices. |
| IP Reference | US20120168816 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | |
| Licensed | Commercial In Confidence |
| Impact | This work has spawned a field of research and development in new materials for photonic devices. The applications include telecommunications and sensing. |
| Title | Light Receiving Device |
| Description | This patent application concerns the use of novel III-V alloys for use in the development of high efficiency solar cells. |
| IP Reference | US20160149060 |
| Protection | Patent application published |
| Year Protection Granted | |
| Licensed | No |
| Impact | This IP has led to research into new approaches for solar cell design and helped to stimulate a new research topic on photodetectors. |