The need for efficient, compact and robust solid-state UV optical sources and sensors had stimulated the development of optical devices based on III–nitride material system. Rapid progress in material growth, device fabrication and packaging enabled demonstration of high efficiency visible-blind and solar-blind photodetectors, deep-UV light-emitting diodes with emission from 400 to 250 nm, and UV laser diodes with operation wavelengths ranging from 340 to 350 nm. Applications of these UV optical devices include flame sensing; fluorescence-based biochemical sensing; covert communications; air, water and food purification and disinfection; and biomedical instrumentation. This paper provides a review of recent advances in the development of UV optical devices. Performance of state-of-the-art devices as well as future prospects and challenges are discussed.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1143/JJAP.44.7191/pdf

III-Nitride UV Devices

Due to its significant applications in many relevant fields, light detection in the solar-blind deep-ultraviolet (DUV) wavelength region is a subject of great interest for both scientific and industrial communities. The rapid advances in preparing high-quality ultrawide-bandgap (UWBG) semiconductors have enabled the realization of various high-performance DUV photodetectors (DUVPDs) with different geometries, which provide an avenue for circumventing numerous disadvantages in traditional DUV detectors. This article presents a comprehensive review of the applications of inorganic UWBG semiconductors for solar-blind DUV light detection in the past several decades. Different kinds of DUVPDs, which are based on varied UWBG semiconductors including Ga2O3, MgxZn1−xO, III-nitride compounds (AlxGa1−xN/AlN and BN), diamond, etc., and operate on different working principles, are introduced and discussed systematically. Some emerging techniques to optimize device performance are addressed as well. Finally, the existing techniques are summarized and future challenges are proposed in order to shed light on development in this critical research field.

Recent Progress in Solar-Blind Deep-Ultraviolet Photodetectors Based on Inorganic Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductors

Recent advances in the research work on III-nitride semiconductors and Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/N materials in particular has renewed the interest and led to significant progress in the development of ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors able to detect light in the mid- and near-UV spectral region (/spl lambda//spl sim/200-400 nm). There have been a growing number of applications which require the use of such sensors and, in many of these, it is important to be able to sense UV light without detecting infrared or visible light, especially from the Sun, in order to minimize the chances of false detection or high background. The research work on short-wavelength UV detectors has, therefore, been recently focused on realizing short-wavelength "solar-blind" detectors which, by definition, are insensitive to photons with wavelengths longer than /spl sim/285 nm. In this paper the development of Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/N-based solar-blind UV detectors will be reviewed. The technological issues pertaining to material synthesis and device fabrication will be discussed. The current state-of-the-art and future prospects for these detectors will be reviewed and discussed.

Short-wavelength solar-blind detectors-status, prospects, and markets

A series of MgxZn1−xO thin films has been prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition and metal-semiconductor-metal structured ultraviolet photodetectors are fabricated from these films. The cutoff wavelengths of the photodetectors can cover the whole solar-blind spectrum range (220–280 nm) by varying Mg content in the MgxZn1−xO thin films. As a representative, the photodetector fabricated from Mg0.52Zn0.48O shows an ultraviolet/visible rejection ratio of about four orders of magnitude, and the dark current is 15 pA at 10 V bias. These results demonstrate that high-performance photodetectors operating in the whole solar-blind spectrum range can be realized in MgxZn1−xO films.

MgxZn1−xO-based photodetectors covering the whole solar-blind spectrum range

We report on high performance AlxGa1−xN-based solar-blind ultraviolet photodetector (PD) array grown on sapphire substrate. First, high quality, crack-free AlN template layer is grown via metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Then, we systematically optimized the device design and material doping through the growth and processing of multiple devices. After optimization, uniform and solar-blind operation is observed throughout the array; at the peak detection wavelength of 275 nm, 729 μm2 area PD showed unbiased peak external quantum efficiency and responsivity of ∼80% and ∼176 mA/W, respectively, increasing to 89% under 5 V of reverse bias. Taking the reflection loses into consideration, the internal quantum efficiency of these optimized PD can be estimated to be as high as ∼98%. The visible rejection ratio measured to be more than six orders of magnitude. Electrical measurements yielded a low-dark current density: <2 × 10−9 A/cm2, at 10 V of reverse bias.

AlxGa1-xN-based back-illuminated solar-blind photodetectors with external quantum efficiency of 89%

We report on an indium–silicon co-doping approach for high-Al-content AlGaN layers. Using this approach, very smooth crack-free n-type AlGaN films as thick as 0.5 μm with Al mole fraction up to 40% were grown over sapphire substrates. The maximum electron concentration in the layers, as determined by Hall measurements, was as high as 8×1017 cm−3 and the Hall mobility was up to 40 cm2/Vs. We used this doping technique to demonstrate solar-blind transparent Schottky barrier photodetectors with the cut-off wavelength of 278 nm.

/pdf/indium-silicon-co-doping-of-high-aluminum-content-algan-for-55xkxbr9hw.pdf

R. Srinivasan

Papers

Indium-Silicon Co-Doping of High-Aluminum-Content AlGaN for Solar Blind Photodetectors