Demonstration of large ionization coefficient ratio in AlAs0.56Sb0.44 lattice matched to InP

Xin Yi; Shiyu Xie; Baolai Liang; Leh Woon Lim; Xinxin Zhou; Mukul C Debnath; Diana L Huffaker; Chee Hing Tan; John P R David

doi:10.1038/s41598-018-27507-w

Demonstration of large ionization coefficient ratio in AlAs_0.56Sb_0.44 lattice matched to InP

Sci Rep. 2018 Jun 14;8(1):9107. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-27507-w.

Authors

Xin Yi¹, Shiyu Xie², Baolai Liang³, Leh Woon Lim¹, Xinxin Zhou¹, Mukul C Debnath³, Diana L Huffaker⁴, Chee Hing Tan¹, John P R David⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK.
² School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK. [email protected].
³ California NanoSystems Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA.
⁴ School of Physics and Astronomy, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 3AA, UK.
⁵ Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 3JD, UK. [email protected].

Abstract

The electron and hole avalanche multiplication characteristics have been measured in bulk AlAs_0.56Sb_0.44 p-i-n and n-i-p homojunction diodes, lattice matched to InP, with nominal avalanche region thicknesses of ~0.6 μm, 1.0 μm and 1.5 μm. From these and data from two much thinner devices, the bulk electron and hole impact ionization coefficients (α and β respectively), have been determined over an electric-field range from 220-1250 kV/cm for α and from 360-1250 kV/cm for β for the first time. The α/β ratio is found to vary from 1000 to 2 over this field range, making it the first report of a wide band-gap III-V semiconductor with ionization coefficient ratios similar to or larger than that observed in silicon.