III-Nitride Nanostructures for Infrared Optoelectronics

Thanks to their large conduction band offset (~1.8 eV for the GaN/AlN system) and subpicosecond intersubband scattering rates, III-nitride heterostructures in the form of quantum wells or quantum dots are excellent candidates for high-speed unipolar devices operating at optical-fiber telecommunication wavelengths, and relying on the quantum confinement of electrons. In this work, we present the plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxial growth of quantum well infrared photodetector structures. The growth of Si-doped GaN/AlN multiple quantum well structures is optimized by controlling substrate temperature, metal excess and growth interruptions. Structural characterization confirms a reduction of the interface roughness to the monolayer scale. P-polarized intersubband absorption peaks covering the 1.33-1.91μm wavelength range are measured on samples with quantum well thickness varying from 1 to 2.5 nm. Complete intersubband photodetectors have been grown on conductive AlGaN claddings, the Al mole fraction of the cladding matching the average Al content of the active region. Photovoltage measurements reveal a narrow (~90 meV) detection peak at 1.39μm at room temperature.