Recent advances in InGaAs detector technology

Recent progress in the design and technology of InGaAs photodetectors operating in the 1.55-3.6 mum spectral range is presented. The performance of uncooled and Peltier-cooled InGaAs detectors is studied both theoretically and experimentally. Conventional and resonant cavity-enhanced devices are considered. In calculations band-to-band Auger processes as the dominant mechanisms of generation and recombination are taken into account. The optimized heterostructures are grown using molecular beam epitaxy on GaAs and InP substrates. Improvement of the performance of conventional photodiodes is achieved by the use of monolithic optical immersion. Further improvement of speed of operation can be reached for resonant cavity-enhanced photodiodes, This allows for a significant reduction of the transit time of photogenerated carriers, which is the main limitation to the speed of response of small-area optically immersed devices. They can be used for the detection of short-wavelength infrared radiation in the gigahertz range. (C) 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.