Effects of layer design on the performance of InAs/AlSb/GaSb resonant interband tunneling diodes on GaAs substrates

The room temperature current-voltage characteristics of InAs/AlSb/GaSb resonant interband tunneling diodes (RITDs), grown by chemical beam epitaxy on GaAs substrates, are reported as a function of the InAs buffer layer thickness and different interface configurations. The peak-to-valley current ratio (PVCR) improved from 1 to 12 as the buffer thickness was increased from 0 to 500 nm and the density of dislocations caused by the lattice mismatch of similar to 7% decreased. No. significant improvement was seen for a buffer thickness beyond 500 nm. Dislocation-free RITDs, grown lattice-matched on InAs substrates, show PVCRs of approximately 16. The InAs/AlSb Interfaces in these structures can be either InSb-like or AZAs-like and the interface can have a very strong effect on the diode performance. Unlike the case in InAs/AlSb field effect transistor structures, an AlAs-like interface results in better PVCRs in the diodes. Details of the results of this study are presented.