Simulation of dark current suppression in p–i–n InGaAs photodetector with In0.66Ga0.34As/InAs superlattice electron barrier

•We established a model for the photodetector with superlattice electron barrier.•We analyzed the electrical characteristics of photodetector by simulation.•The superlattice period versus dark current was primarily studied.

An InGaAs–based photodetector with different periods of inserting strain–compensated In0.66Ga0.34As/InAs superlattice (SL) electron barrier in the In0.83Ga0.17As absorption layer has been investigated. The band diagram, electron concentration and electric field intensity of the structure were analyzed with numerical simulation. It was found that the period of SL has a remarkable influence on the properties of the photodetectors. With the decrease of the period of In0.66Ga0.34As/InAs SL, the dark current density is suppressed significantly, which is reduced to 2.46 × 10−3 A/cm2 at 300 K and a reverse bias voltage of 1 V when the period is 2.5 nm.