Surface Leakage Mechanisms in III–V Infrared Barrier Detectors

Infrared detector epitaxial structures employing unipolar barriers exhibit greatly reduced dark currents compared to simple pn-based structures. When correctly positioned within the structure, unipolar barriers are highly effective at blocking bulk dark current mechanisms. Unipolar barriers are also effective at suppressing surface leakage current in infrared detector structures employing absorbing layers that possess the same conductivity type in their bulk and at their surface. When an absorbing layer possesses opposite conductivity types in its bulk and at its surface, unipolar barriers are not solutions to surface leakage. This work reviews empirically determined surface band alignments of III–V semiconductor compounds and modeled surface band alignments of both gallium-free and gallium-containing type-II strained layer superlattice material systems. Surface band alignments are used to predict surface conductivity types in several detector structures, and the relationship between surface and bulk conductivity types in the absorbing layers of these structures is used as the basis for explaining observed surface leakage characteristics.