Concentration-dependent minority carrier lifetime in an In 0.53 Ga 0.47 As interdigitated lateral PIN photodiode model based on spin-on chemical fabrication methodology

The fitted parameters for the analytic function used to specify the doping dependence of minority carrier lifetimes for In0.53Ga0.47As (InGaAs) is described in this paper. This model together with other carrier models was used to develop an interdigitated lateral PIN photodiode utilizing InGaAs as the absorbing layer. We propose the usage of spin-on chemicals such as spin-on dopants and spin-on glass to form the p+ wells, n+ wells and the surface passivation layer of the device hence providing a cheap and easy solution versus the conventional epitaxial growth methodology. The modeled device achieved dark currents of 0.21 nA and capacitance of 2.87 nF at an operating voltage of 5 V. Optical illumination at a wavelength of 1550 nm and power of 10 W/cm2 enabled the device to achieve responsivity of 0.56 A/W and external quantum efficiency of 44%. The −3 dB frequency response of the device was at 8.93 GHz and signal-to-noise ratio is 36 dB. The developed device shows close correlation with experimentally developed devices developed using other fabrication methodologies. The results of this work would be useful in the thorough development of InGaAs-based devices based on spin-on chemical fabrication methodology using commercial device simulation packages. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.