GaSb Schottky diodes for infrared detectors

GaSb Schottky barrier photodiodes are shown to have quantum efficiency higher than 35 percent over a broad band of infra-red light wavelength shorter than 1.6 µm. Theoretical calculations of current voltage characteristics including tunneling current are compared with the experiment and it is suggested that surface leakage current, tunneling current, and avalanche breakdown, respectively, dominate the reverse characteristics with increasing voltage. Epitaxial growth of an n-type layer with carrier density 10
¹⁵
cm
^-3
and suitable surface passivation are key technologies for the application of this material to infra-red detectors.