Development of 1.3 Micron and 1.55 Micron LPE (Liquid Phase Epitaxy) and MOCVD (Metal-Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition) HgCdTe Avalanche Photodiodes

摘要

In the program, both liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) were used to investigate the feasibility of producing avalanche photodiodes (APD) in HgCdTe epilayers. During the first phase study, both diffused diodes and heterojunction APD were produced. The typical HgCdTe heterojunction APD at a peak wavelength of 1.28 micron has a breakdown voltage of 160 volts, a leakage current smaller than 0.00001 Amo/sq cm at a reverse bias voltage of 30 volts, a gain of 20 at a voltage smaller than the breakdown voltage, and a gain of over 50 under the breakdown condition. These numbers are much better than those previously reported on HgCdTe APD, and even better than those measured on Ge and GaInAs APD. However, before the HdCdTe APD is used commercially, the speed and reliability of these devices has to be tested.