Influence of radiative and non-radiative recombination on the minority carrier lifetime in midwave infrared InAs/InAsSb superlattices

Optical modulation response is used to study the influence of radiative, Shockley-Read-Hall, and Auger recombination processes on the minority carrier lifetime in a mid-wave infrared InAs/InAsSb superlattice. A comparison of calculated and measured temperature dependencies shows that the lifetime is influenced mainly by radiative recombination at low temperatures, resulting in an increase of the minority carrier lifetime from 1.8 mu s at 77K to 2.8 mu s at 200 K. At temperatures above 200 K, Auger recombination increases rapidly and limits the lifetime. Shockley-Read-Hall limited lifetimes on the order of 10 mu s are predicted for superlattices with lower background doping concentration. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.