CN118016750A - Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region - Google Patents

Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region Download PDF

Info

Publication number
CN118016750A
CN118016750A CN202410412573.9A CN202410412573A CN118016750A CN 118016750 A CN118016750 A CN 118016750A CN 202410412573 A CN202410412573 A CN 202410412573A CN 118016750 A CN118016750 A CN 118016750A
Authority
CN
China
Prior art keywords
type
barrier layer
layer
absorption
region
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
CN202410412573.9A
Other languages
Chinese (zh)
Inventor
李明明
成毅凡
陈冠良
唐振耘
宋志刚
李树深
郑婉华
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Institute of Semiconductors of CAS
Original Assignee
Institute of Semiconductors of CAS
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Institute of Semiconductors of CAS filed Critical Institute of Semiconductors of CAS
Priority to CN202410412573.9A priority Critical patent/CN118016750A/en
Publication of CN118016750A publication Critical patent/CN118016750A/en
Pending legal-status Critical Current

Links

Landscapes

  • Light Receiving Elements (AREA)

Abstract

The invention provides a photoelectric detector with separated absorption area and depletion area, relates to the field of photoelectric detection, and can be used for solving the problem of excessive dark current in devices. The photodetector having the absorption region and the depletion region separated includes: a substrate; and a buffer layer, an absorption layer, a first barrier layer and a second barrier layer which are sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the buffer layer, the absorption layer and the first barrier layer are provided with a first doping type, the second barrier layer is provided with a second doping type, the first doping type is different from the second doping type, the absorption layer forms an absorption region of the photoelectric detector, and the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer form a depletion region of the photoelectric detector. According to the photoelectric detector with the separated absorption region and depletion region, the absorption region and the depletion region in the photoelectric detector are separated, so that dark current in a device can be effectively restrained, the signal quality of the photoelectric detector is improved, false alarm is reduced, and the service life of equipment is prolonged.

Description

Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of photoelectric detection, in particular to a photoelectric detector with separated absorption area and depletion area.
Background
The low-noise infrared photoelectric detector has wide application in the fields of medical treatment, remote sensing, quantum computation, communication and the like, but dark current in the infrared photoelectric detector can introduce unwanted noise in a system, so that the signal-to-noise ratio is reduced, and the sensitivity of the infrared photoelectric detector is further reduced. Therefore, effective suppression of dark current is critical to improving the overall function and reliability of the infrared photodetector. In a conventional PIN-type detector, the intrinsic layer is used as an absorption region and also is used as an entire depletion region, so that a large dark current is generated.
Disclosure of Invention
In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the embodiment of the invention provides the photoelectric detector with the separated absorption area and the depletion area, which separates the absorption area and the depletion area in the photoelectric detector, can effectively inhibit dark current in a device, is beneficial to improving the signal quality of the photoelectric detector, reduces false alarm and prolongs the service life of equipment.
The embodiment of the invention provides a photoelectric detector with separated absorption region and depletion region, comprising: a substrate; and a buffer layer, an absorption layer, a first barrier layer and a second barrier layer which are sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the buffer layer, the absorption layer and the first barrier layer are provided with a first doping type, the second barrier layer is provided with a second doping type, the first doping type is different from the second doping type, the absorption layer forms an absorption region of the photoelectric detector, and the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer form a depletion region of the photoelectric detector.
In some illustrative embodiments, the first doping type is an N-type doping and the second doping type is a P-type doping.
In some exemplary embodiments, the buffer layer is heavily doped N-type, the absorber layer is lightly doped N-type, the first barrier layer is lightly doped N-type, and the second barrier layer is heavily doped P-type.
In some illustrative embodiments, the concentration range of the N-type light doping is 10 15-1017/cm3, the concentration range of the N-type heavy doping is 10 18-1019/cm3, and the concentration range of the P-type heavy doping is 10 18-1019/cm3.
In some illustrative embodiments, the first doping type is P-type doping and the second doping type is N-type doping.
In some exemplary embodiments, the buffer layer is heavily doped P-type, the absorber layer is lightly doped P-type, the first barrier layer is lightly doped P-type, and the second barrier layer is heavily doped N-type.
In some illustrative embodiments, the concentration range of the P-type light doping is 10 15-1017/cm3, the concentration range of the N-type heavy doping is 10 18-1019/cm3, and the concentration range of the P-type heavy doping is 10 18-1019/cm3.
In some exemplary embodiments, the absorption layer has a bandgap less than the first barrier layer and the first barrier layer has a bandgap less than or equal to the second barrier layer.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first barrier layer has a thickness greater than the second barrier layer.
In some exemplary embodiments, the first barrier layer has a thickness greater than 150nm and the second barrier layer has a thickness ranging from 100nm to 150nm.
Based on the above, in the photodetector with separated absorption region and depletion region, the double barrier structure of the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer is adopted, the buffer layer, the absorption layer, the first barrier layer are doped in N type, the second barrier layer is doped in P type, or the combination of the buffer layer, the absorption layer, the first barrier layer are doped in P type, and the second barrier layer is doped in N type, so that the absorption region and the depletion region in the photodetector are separated, the double barrier structure is used as the depletion region of the device, the depletion region is not limited by the thickness of the absorption region, and the thickness of the absorption region can be adjusted to obtain the device with high responsivity and low dark current. Meanwhile, the thickness of the double barrier structure separated from the absorption region can prevent the formation of composite dark current, diffusion dark current, tunneling dark current and surface dark current, so that the dark current of the device reaches a lower level.
Drawings
Fig. 1 schematically shows a structure of a photodetector in which an absorption region and a depletion region are separated according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 schematically shows a doping type diagram of a photodetector with separation of the absorption and depletion regions according to a second embodiment of the invention.
Fig. 3 schematically shows a doping type diagram of a photodetector with separation of an absorption region and a depletion region according to a third embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 schematically shows a band structure diagram of a photodetector with separation of an absorption region and a depletion region according to an embodiment of the invention.
Reference numerals illustrate:
100. 200, 300: photoelectric detector
110: Substrate and method for manufacturing the same
120: Buffer layer
130: Absorbent layer
140: First barrier layer
150: Second barrier layer
Detailed Description
The following examples are set forth in detail in connection with the accompanying drawings, but are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Moreover, the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and are not drawn to scale. For ease of understanding, like elements will be described with like reference numerals throughout the following description.
As used herein, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like are open-ended terms, i.e., including, but not limited to.
When elements are described in terms of "first," "second," and the like, they are merely used to distinguish one element from another, and do not limit the order or importance of the elements. Thus, in some cases, a first element may also be termed a second element, and a second element may also be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of the present invention.
In addition, directional terms such as "upper", "lower", etc. are used only with reference to the directions of the drawings, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Thus, it will be understood that "upper" may be used interchangeably with "lower" and that when an element such as a layer or film is placed "on" another element, the element may be placed directly on the other element, or intervening elements may be present. On the other hand, when an element is referred to as being "directly on" another element, there are no intervening elements present therebetween.
Fig. 1 schematically shows a structure of a photodetector of a first embodiment of the present invention in which an absorption region and a depletion region are separated.
As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, the photodetector 100 may include a substrate 110, a buffer layer 120, an absorption layer 130, a first barrier layer 140, and a second barrier layer 150. The buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, the first barrier layer 140, and the second barrier layer 150 are sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the substrate 110.
In this embodiment, the buffer layer 120 is located on the substrate 110, has a first doping type, and may form an ohmic contact. The absorption layer 130 is located on the buffer layer 120 and has a first doping type to form an absorption region of the photodetector 100, and performs light absorption to generate photo-generated carriers. The first barrier layer 140, also of the first doping type, is located over the absorber layer 130 to form a portion of the depletion region of the photodetector 100, and may act as a first carrier blocking layer. The second barrier layer 150 is located above the first barrier layer 140 and has a second doping type to form another portion of the depletion region of the photodetector 100, which may act as a second carrier blocking layer.
In this embodiment, the first doping type is different from the second doping type, and the doping type may be N-type doping or P-type doping. For example, when the first doping type is an N-type doping, the second doping type may be a P-type doping. Some embodiments of the doping type and doping concentration of the layers will be described later.
According to the embodiment of the invention, by adopting the double barrier structures of the first barrier layer 140 and the second barrier layer 150, the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130 and the first barrier layer 140 all have different doping types with the second barrier layer 150, the absorption layer 130 is used as the absorption region of the photoelectric detector, and the double barrier structure is used as the depletion region, so that the separation of the absorption region and the depletion region is realized, and the dark current in the photoelectric detector can be reduced.
The absorption region is a region of the photodetector for absorbing photons of a fixed wave band to generate electron-hole pairs, and is required to absorb incident light to the maximum extent, and under the condition of a certain absorption coefficient, the photo-generated carriers increase along with the increase of the thickness of the material; the depletion region is the region of the photodetector where the built-in electric field is generated, and it is necessary to minimize the recombination of electron-hole pairs, and the probability of recombination of electrons and holes increases with the thickness of the material. In this embodiment, by separating the absorption region from the depletion region, the transport of the photogenerated electrons and holes generated by the absorption region is not affected by the depletion region but is transported to the electrode region, so that the charge transport can be more effectively controlled and the performance of the detector can be enhanced, thereby avoiding the problem of excessive dark current caused by the intrinsic layer in the conventional PIN-type detector being used as both the absorption region and the depletion region. In particular, for infrared photodetectors, the longer the wavelength of the infrared photodetectors, the greater the effect of dark current and therefore the higher the need to control noise.
The doping type and doping combination of the layers in the photodetector are critical to achieving separation of the absorption and depletion regions in embodiments of the invention. Two examples are listed below to describe this in detail.
Fig. 2 schematically shows a doping type diagram of a photodetector with separation of the absorption and depletion regions according to a second embodiment of the invention. In the present embodiment, elements named as the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and will not be described again. In addition, the second embodiment omits the substrate 110 for simplicity of illustration, but does not indicate that the photodetector of the second embodiment, in which the absorption region and the depletion region are separated, does not require the substrate 110.
Referring to fig. 2, in the photodetector 200 of the present embodiment, the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, and the first barrier layer 140 are all N-doped, and the second barrier layer 150 is P-doped.
More specifically, the buffer layer 120 may be an N-type heavily doped N +, the absorber layer 130 may be an N-type lightly doped N -, the first barrier layer 140 may be an N-type lightly doped N -, and the second barrier layer 150 may be a P-type heavily doped P +.
In this embodiment, the concentration range of the N-type lightly doped N - is 10 15-1017/cm3, the concentration range of the N-type heavily doped N + is 10 18-1019/cm3, and the concentration range of the P-type heavily doped P + is 10 18-1019/cm3. Doping concentration refers to the number of doping atoms per unit volume.
In other embodiments, the first barrier layer 140 may be doped in a graded manner, for example, the doping concentration of the first barrier layer 140 gradually increases along the direction of the absorption layer 130 toward the second barrier layer 150, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
The first barrier layer 140 and the second barrier layer 150 may be made of the same material or different materials, which is not limited in the present invention.
Fig. 3 schematically shows a doping type diagram of a photodetector with separation of an absorption region and a depletion region according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, elements named as the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and will not be described again. Similarly, the third embodiment also omits the substrate 110 for the same reasons as described above. The main difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment is the difference in doping type.
Referring to fig. 3, in the photodetector 300 of the present embodiment, the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, and the first barrier layer 140 are all P-doped, and the second barrier layer 150 is N-doped.
More specifically, the buffer layer 120 may be a P-type heavily doped P +, the absorber layer 130 may be a P-type lightly doped P -, the first barrier layer 140 may be a P-type lightly doped P -, and the second barrier layer 150 may be an N-type heavily doped N +.
In this embodiment, the concentration range of the P-type lightly doped P - is 10 15-1017/cm3, the concentration range of the N-type heavily doped N + is 10 18-1019/cm3, and the concentration range of the P-type heavily doped P + is 10 18-1019/cm3.
The doping type and the doping concentration of the invention are described in the above embodiments, the doping type of each layer can be determined according to the carrier concentration type of the absorption region and the position of the double barrier structure, and the absorption region and the depletion region of the photoelectric detector device are separated by setting the doping type and the doping concentration of each layer, and the depletion region is all concentrated in the double barrier structure.
In addition to the doping type and doping concentration settings, the embodiments of the present invention further consider the effect of energy band and thickness on the photodetector.
In some embodiments, the absorption layer 130 has a bandgap smaller than the first barrier layer 140, and the first barrier layer 140 has a bandgap smaller than or equal to the second barrier layer 150.
There are special requirements on the band design for photodetectors with separation of the absorption and depletion regions. Specifically, one of the conduction band or the valence band of the absorption region (i.e., the absorption layer 130), the depletion region (i.e., the first barrier layer 140, and the second barrier layer 150) is almost a flat band (the band step is tens or tens of milli-electron volts), and the other band serves as a potential barrier. This is also one of the places where the present invention is distinguished from conventional detector structures. For example, when the photodetector of the embodiment of the invention is a type-two superlattice detector or has a band gap of an energy band-adjustable material, a conduction band or a valence band of the whole device can be used as a barrier layer of electrons or holes, wherein the energy band steps of a depletion region and an absorption region are generally greater than 0.78eV, and the energy band of the other valence band or conduction band is used as an energy band of a non-blocking layer, and the energy band steps are generally not greater than 0.5eV.
In some embodiments, the first barrier layer 140 is thicker than the second barrier layer 150. The first barrier layer 140 and the second barrier layer 150 serve as depletion layers of the device, the depletion layers are not limited by the thickness of the absorption region, and the thickness of the absorption region can be adjusted to obtain the device with high responsivity and low dark current. In general, the total thickness of the first barrier layer 140 and the second barrier layer 150 is generally 200nm or more to prevent the generation of tunneling current. Preferably, the thickness of the first barrier layer 140 may be greater than 150nm, and the thickness of the second barrier layer 150 may be 100nm-150nm.
Fig. 4 schematically shows a band structure diagram of a photodetector with separation of an absorption region and a depletion region according to an embodiment of the invention.
As shown in fig. 4, the positions of the abscissa in the drawing correspond to the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, the first barrier layer 140, and the second barrier layer 150, respectively, from left to right, and the coordinate axes represent the energy values of the conduction band, the valence band, and the fermi level in each layer. The electron transport direction is directed from the right side of the figure to the left and the hole transport direction is directed from the left side of the figure to the right. It can be seen that in the photodetector having the separation of the absorption region and the depletion region according to the embodiment of the present invention, the photogenerated electrons and holes generated by the absorption layer 130 are not affected by the barrier layer when they are transported to the electrode.
In summary, according to the photodetector with separated absorption region and depletion region provided in the embodiment of the present invention, by adopting the dual barrier structures of the first barrier layer 140 and the second barrier layer 150, the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, the first barrier layer 140 being doped with N type, the second barrier layer 150 being doped with P type, or the combination of the buffer layer 120, the absorption layer 130, the first barrier layer 140 being doped with P type, the second barrier layer 150 being doped with N type, and the design of energy band and thickness, the absorption region and the depletion region in the photodetector can be separated, the dual barrier structure is used as the depletion region of the device, the depletion region is not limited by the thickness of the absorption region, and the thickness of the absorption region can be adjusted to obtain the device with high responsivity and low dark current. Meanwhile, the thickness of the double barrier structure separated from the absorption region can prevent the formation of composite dark current, diffusion dark current, tunneling dark current and surface dark current, so that the dark current of the device reaches a lower level.
The foregoing embodiments have been provided for the purpose of illustrating the general principles of the present invention, and are more fully described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which the principles of the present invention are shown and described, and in which the general principles of the invention are defined by the appended claims.

Claims (10)

1. A photodetector having an absorption region and a depletion region separated, comprising:
A substrate; and
A buffer layer, an absorption layer, a first barrier layer and a second barrier layer which are sequentially stacked on the upper surface of the substrate,
The buffer layer, the absorption layer and the first barrier layer are provided with a first doping type, the second barrier layer is provided with a second doping type, the first doping type is different from the second doping type, the absorption layer forms an absorption region of the photoelectric detector, and the first barrier layer and the second barrier layer form a depletion region of the photoelectric detector.
2. The photodetector of claim 1 wherein the first doping type is N-type doping and the second doping type is P-type doping.
3. The photodetector of claim 2 wherein said buffer layer is heavily doped N-type, said absorber layer is lightly doped N-type, said first barrier layer is lightly doped N-type, and said second barrier layer is heavily doped P-type.
4. A photodetector according to claim 3 wherein the concentration of the N-type lightly doped is in the range of 10 15-1017/cm3, the concentration of the N-type heavily doped is in the range of 10 18-1019/cm3 and the concentration of the P-type heavily doped is in the range of 10 18-1019/cm3.
5. The photodetector of claim 1 wherein the first doping type is P-type doping and the second doping type is N-type doping.
6. The photodetector of claim 5 wherein said buffer layer is heavily doped P-type, said absorber layer is lightly doped P-type, said first barrier layer is lightly doped P-type, and said second barrier layer is heavily doped N-type.
7. The photodetector of claim 6 wherein said P-type lightly doped region has a concentration of 10 15-1017/cm3, said N-type heavily doped region has a concentration of 10 18-1019/cm3, and said P-type heavily doped region has a concentration of 10 18-1019/cm3.
8. The photodetector of claim 1 wherein the absorption layer has a bandgap less than the first barrier layer and the first barrier layer has a bandgap less than or equal to the second barrier layer.
9. The photodetector of claim 1 wherein said first barrier layer has a thickness greater than said second barrier layer.
10. The photodetector of claim 9 wherein said first barrier layer has a thickness greater than 150nm and said second barrier layer has a thickness between 100nm and 150nm.
CN202410412573.9A 2024-04-08 2024-04-08 Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region Pending CN118016750A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202410412573.9A CN118016750A (en) 2024-04-08 2024-04-08 Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CN202410412573.9A CN118016750A (en) 2024-04-08 2024-04-08 Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CN118016750A true CN118016750A (en) 2024-05-10

Family

ID=90954721

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CN202410412573.9A Pending CN118016750A (en) 2024-04-08 2024-04-08 Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CN (1) CN118016750A (en)

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030089958A1 (en) * 2000-12-19 2003-05-15 Augusto Gutierrez-Aitken Low dark current photodiode
US20140332755A1 (en) * 2013-05-07 2014-11-13 L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics Corporation Diode barrier infrared detector devices and superlattice barrier structures
US9748427B1 (en) * 2012-11-01 2017-08-29 Hrl Laboratories, Llc MWIR photodetector with compound barrier with P-N junction
CN108538935A (en) * 2018-04-16 2018-09-14 北京工业大学 Tunnel compensation superlattices infrared detector
CN113035992A (en) * 2021-02-26 2021-06-25 中国科学院半导体研究所 Complementary potential barrier superlattice long-wave infrared detector

Patent Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030089958A1 (en) * 2000-12-19 2003-05-15 Augusto Gutierrez-Aitken Low dark current photodiode
US9748427B1 (en) * 2012-11-01 2017-08-29 Hrl Laboratories, Llc MWIR photodetector with compound barrier with P-N junction
US20140332755A1 (en) * 2013-05-07 2014-11-13 L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics Corporation Diode barrier infrared detector devices and superlattice barrier structures
CN108538935A (en) * 2018-04-16 2018-09-14 北京工业大学 Tunnel compensation superlattices infrared detector
CN113035992A (en) * 2021-02-26 2021-06-25 中国科学院半导体研究所 Complementary potential barrier superlattice long-wave infrared detector

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US6614086B2 (en) Avalanche photodetector
US8368051B2 (en) Complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD)
EP0451931B1 (en) Avalanche photodiode
EP3229279B1 (en) Avalanche photodiode
US7049640B2 (en) Low capacitance avalanche photodiode
JP2571760B2 (en) Photo detector
US20080128849A1 (en) Low-noise semiconductor photodetectors
EP2808908B1 (en) High-speed photodetector
US10411051B2 (en) Coplanar electrode photodiode array and manufacturing method thereof
US20100133637A1 (en) Avalanche photodiode
US8729602B2 (en) Avalanche photodiode
CN105957908A (en) Multiplication region controlled avalanche photodiode and manufacturing method thereof
JPH03503226A (en) Photodetector containing semiconductor multilayer structure
JP2002314118A (en) Photodetector
US5047622A (en) Long wavelength infrared detector with heterojunction
CN116598369B (en) Low-noise single photon detector and preparation method thereof
US10361333B1 (en) High performance or wavelength configurable detector
CN111799350B (en) Double-color infrared detector and manufacturing method thereof
CN118016750A (en) Photodetector with separation of absorption region and depletion region
CN110544731A (en) Ultraviolet detector and preparation method thereof
Uzgur et al. InGaAs nBn SWIR detector design with lattice-matched InAlGaAs barrier
CN102263162A (en) Preparation methods for avalanche photo diode in flip-chip bonded structure and array thereof
KR102387737B1 (en) photovoltaic cells
CN1953214A (en) Tunnel compensation multiple-active-region infrared detector
US8513704B2 (en) Method for manufacturing a photodiode and corresponding photodiode and electromagnetic radiation detector

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
PB01 Publication
PB01 Publication
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination
SE01 Entry into force of request for substantive examination