III-Nitrides Resonant Cavity Photodetector Devices

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Optoelectronics
• Semiconductor Physics

Background:

• Schottky barrier photodetectors are crucial for light detection.
• III-nitride materials offer unique optoelectronic properties.
• Resonant cavity enhancement can improve photodetector performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize III-nitride resonant cavity-enhanced Schottky barrier photodetectors.
• To investigate the impact of an optical cavity on photodetector performance.
• To demonstrate wavelength selectivity and enhanced responsivity.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of photodetectors using radio frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on GaN templates.
• Construction of an optical cavity using a distributed Bragg reflector and an Au-based Schottky contact.
• Comparison with conventional Schottky photodetectors without an optical cavity.

Main Results:

• Resonant devices exhibited two distinct spectral response peaks at 330 and 358 nm.
• Responsibilities of 0.34 and 0.39 mA/W were achieved at these peaks.
• Responsivity was approximately 80 times higher than conventional devices.

Conclusions:

• The optical cavity significantly enhances wavelength selectivity and optical field intensity.
• III-nitride resonant cavity structures are effective for high-performance photodetectors.
• This work highlights the potential of nitride-based Bragg mirrors and thin active layers.