Heterostructure axial GaAsSb ensemble near-infrared p-i-n based axial configured nanowire photodetectors

In this work, we present a systematic design of growth experiments and subsequent characterization of self-catalyzed molecular beam epitaxially grown GaAsSb heterostructure axial p-i-n nanowires (NWs) on p-Si for the ensemble photodetector (PD) application in the near-infrared region. Diverse growth methods have been explored to gain a better insight into mitigating several growth challenges by systematically studying their impact on the NW electrical and optical properties to realize a high-quality p-i-n heterostructure. The successful growth approaches are Te-dopant compensation to suppress the p-type nature of intrinsic GaAsSb segment, growth interruption for strain relaxation at the interface, decreased substrate temperature to enhance supersaturation and minimize the reservoir effect, higher bandgap compositions of the n-segment of the heterostructure relative to the intrinsic region for boosting the absorption, and the high-temperature ultra-high vacuum in situ annealing to reduce the parasitic radial overgrowth. The efficacy of these methods is supported by enhanced photoluminescence (PL) emission, suppressed dark current in the heterostructure p-i-n NWs accompanied by increased rectification ratio, photosensitivity, and a reduced low-frequency noise level. The PD fabricated utilizing the optimized GaAsSb axial p-i-n NWs exhibited the longer wavelength cutoff at similar to 1.1 mu m with a significantly higher responsivity of similar to 120 A W-1 (@-3 V bias) and a detectivity of 1.1 x 10(13) Jones operating at room temperature. Frequency and the bias independent capacitance in the pico-Farad (pF) range and substantially lower noise level at the reverse biased condition, show the prospects of p-i-n GaAsSb NWs PD for high-speed optoelectronic applications.

Automated summary

In this study, a systematic design of growth experiments and subsequent characterization of GaAsSb heterostructure axial p-i-n nanowires on p-Si for ensemble photodetector application were presented. Various growth methods were explored to mitigate several growth challenges and improve the electrical and optical properties of the nanowires. The optimized GaAsSb axial p-i-n nanowires showed enhanced responsivity, detectivity, and reduced noise level, making them suitable for high-speed optoelectronic applications.