GaN/AlN quantum dot photodetectors at 1.3–1.5 μm

We have demonstrated GaN/AlN quantum dots (QD) photodetectors, relying on intraband absorption and in-plane carrier transport in the wetting layer. The devices operate at room temperature in the wavelength range 1.3–1.5 μm. Samples with 20 periods of Si-doped GaN QD layers, separated by 3 nm-thick AlN barriers, have been grown by plasma-assisted molecular-beam epitaxy on an AlN buffer on a cc-sapphire substrate. Self-organized dots are formed by the deposition of 5 monolayers of GaN under nitrogen-rich conditions. The dot height is 1.2±0.6 to 1.3±0.6 nm and the dot density is in the range 1011–1012 cm−2. Two ohmic contacts were deposited on the sample surface and annealed in order to contact the buried QD layers. The dots exhibit TM polarized absorption linked to the s–pz transition. The photocurrent at 300 K is slightly blue-shifted with respect to the s–pz intraband absorption. The responsivity increases exponentially with temperature and reaches a record value of 10 mA/W at 300 K for detectors with interdigitated contacts.