Ultrafast Phenomena in Freestanding LT-GaAs Devices

in Acta Physica Polonica A (2005), VOL 107; PART 1

We report on the fabrication and high-frequency performance of our photodetectors and photomixers based on freestanding low-temperature-grown GaAs. The MBE-grown low-temperature GaAs layers are lifted ... [more ▼]

We report on the fabrication and high-frequency performance of our photodetectors and photomixers based on freestanding low-temperature-grown GaAs. The MBE-grown low-temperature GaAs layers are lifted from the native GaAs substrate and transferred on top of variety of host substrates. The freestanding devices exhibit breakdown electrical ¯elds above 200 kV/cm and dark currents below 3 £ 10¡7 A at 100 V bias. Device photoresponse shows 0.55 ps wide electrical transients with voltage amplitudes up to 1.3 V, measured using an electro-optical sampling technique with 100 fs wide laser pulses. Photomixing experiments at 460 GHz yield a 9 times higher output power for the freestanding device on Si/SiO2 host substrate compared to the native substrate. [less ▲]

Fabrication and performance of hybrid photoconductive devices based on freestanding LT-GaAs, Ultrafast Phenomena in Semiconductors and Nanostructure Materials VIII,

in Proceedings of SPIE (2004), 5353 (2004)

We report on fabrication and high-frequency performance of our photodetectors and photomixers based on freestanding low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs). In our experiments, the LT-GaAs/AlAs bilayers were ... [more ▼]

We report on fabrication and high-frequency performance of our photodetectors and photomixers based on freestanding low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs). In our experiments, the LT-GaAs/AlAs bilayers were grown on 2-inch diameter, semi-insulating GaAs wafers by a molecular beam epitaxy. Next, the bilayer was patterned to form 10 × 10 μm2 to 150 × 150 μm2 structures using photolithography and ion beam etching. The AlAs layer was then selectively etched in diluted HF solution, and the LT-GaAs device was lifted from its substrate and transferred on top of a variety of substrates including Si, MgO/YBaCuO, Al2O3, and a plastic foil. Following the transfer, metallic coplanar transmission lines were fabricated on top of the LT-GaAs structure, forming a metal semiconductor-metal photodetectors or photomixer structures. Our freestanding devices exhibited above 200 V breakdown voltages and dark currents at 100 V below 3×10-7 A. Device photoresponse was measured using an electro-optic sampling technique with 100-fs-wide laser pulses at wavelengths of 810 nm and 405 nm as the excitation source. For 810-nm excitation, we measured 0.55 ps-wide electrical transients with voltage amplitudes of up to 1.3 V. The signal amplitude was a linear function of the applied voltage bias, as well as a linear function of the laser excitation power, below well-defined saturation thresholds. Output power from the freestanding photomixers was measured with two beam laser illumination experimental setup. Reported fabrication technique is suitable for the LT-GaAs integration with a range of semiconducting, superconducting, and organic materials for high-frequency hybrid optoelectronic applications. [less ▲]