P-I-N HGCDTE PHOTODIODES GROWN BY MOLECULAR-BEAM EPITAXY

We report the successful molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of in situ arsenic- and indium-doped p-i-n HgCdTe double heterostructures. High-performance, short-wavelength, infrared (2.09-mu-m) photodiodes operating at 300 K have been fabricated with these double heterostructures. The observed current-voltage characteristics and quantum efficiency of these diodes can be explained by assuming that the current components are dominated by generation-recombination currents. These photodetectors exhibit quantum efficiencies of 78%. Growth of this kind of in situ doped structures indicates that the HgCdTe MBE technology has matured to the point where doped HgCdTe multilayer heterostructures can be grown and used to fabricate advanced infrared electronic devices.