AUGER LIFETIME ENHANCEMENT IN INAS-GA1-XINXSB SUPERLATTICES

We have experimentally and theoretically investigated the Auger recombination lifetime in InAs-Ga1-xInxSb superlattices. Data were obtained by analyzing the steady-state photoconductive response to frequency-doubled CO2 radiation, at intensities varying by over four orders of magnitude. Theoretical Auger rates were derived, based on a k.p calculation of the superlattice band structure in a model which employs no adjustable parameters. At 77 K, both experiment and theory yield Auger lifetimes which are approximately two orders of magnitude longer than those in Hg1-xCdxTe with the same energy gap. This finding has highly favorable implications for the application of InAs-Ga1-xInxSb superlattices to infrared detector and nonlinear optical devices.