Schottky barrier contact on In0.53Ga0.47As with short-wave infrared transparent conductive oxide

In this study, we fabricate and investigate Schottky barrier contact on n- and p-type In0.53Ga0.47As with transparent conductive oxide (TCO) that transmits light from the visible to short-wave infrared (SWIR) region. The TCO/p-In0.53Ga0.47As contact exhibits explicit rectifying behavior in current-voltage measurement, with an effective Schottky barrier height of 0.587 eV (I-V) and 0.567 eV (C-V). Conversely, the TCO/n-In0.53Ga0.47As exhibits the Ohmic behavior. From high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations, we identified two types of interfacial layers between TCO and InGaAs: an In/Ga-rich InGaAs oxide layer and an In/Ga-deficient InGaAs layer. These interfacial layers may have a significant impact on the performance of the Schottky barrier contact. An ultra-thin Ni-layer insertion at the TCO/n(+)-InGaAs interface reduces the contact resistivity by more than an order of magnitude while maintaining high transparency. The TCO/p-InGaAs Schottky barrier contact also performs broadband light detection from the visible to SWIR region in a front-side illumination manner, which is highly promising for detecting wavelengths covering the optical communication band. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

In this study, the fabrication and investigation of Schottky barrier contact on n- and p-type In0.53Ga0.47As with transparent conductive oxide (TCO) that transmits light is presented. The contact shows explicit rectifying behavior and insertion of an ultra-thin Ni-layer reduces contact resistivity significantly. This contact has potential for broadband light detection in the optical communication band.