GAAS ALAS/SI HETEROSTRUCTURES FOR BLOCKING DARK CURRENT INJECTION IN IMPURITY-BAND-CONDUCTION PHOTODETECTORS/

An experimental investigation was made of GaAs and GaAs/AlAs barriers on Si for blocking injected dark current in impurity-band-conduction ( TBC) infrared photodetectors. Reducing dark current would improve dete ctor performance. Experimental results indicate that barrier heights o f the order of 0.29 eV were obtained. Current versus bias behavior at temperatures less than or equal to 20 K showed successful blocking of injected electron dark current for negative applied biases in the oper ating range for IBC detectors. (C) 1996 American Institute of Physics.