Strain-balanced extended-wavelength barrier detector

A non-transitory processor readable storage medium for forming a strain-balanced extended-wavelength majority carrier filter barrier photodetector with a desired cutoff wavelength, the medium provides for an executable computer program product, the executable computer program product comprising a computer software code that, when executed on a processor, causes the processor to determine a periodic interval at which to intersperse, within a photo-absorbing region, a plurality of strain-compensating layers such that the strain-compensating layers are substantially quantum-mechanically transparent while compensating for a mechanical strain of the photo-absorbing region on at least one of a substrate and a barrier layer in a lattice-mismatched condition to allow for the photodetector to be grown by alternatingly growing on at least one of the substrate and the barrier layer a plurality of photo-absorbing layers of a first alloy and the plurality of strain-compensating layers of a second alloy at the determined periodic interval within the photo-absorbing region;

• and select a value for the periodic interval by selecting the periodic interval so that a thickness of the plurality of strain-compensating layers remains effectively quantum mechanically transparent without introducing significant confinement energy that offsets a wavelength extension from a change in photo-absorber composition.

A method of forming a strain-balanced extended-wavelength photodetector, the method comprising:

• selecting a desired cutoff wavelength for the photodetector;
• determining a mole fraction for an absorber layer of the photodetector corresponding to the desired cutoff wavelength to be exhibited by the absorber layer of the photodetector;
• determining a layer thickness ratio between a thickness of a plurality of strain-compensation layers and a plurality of photo-absorbing layers within the absorber layer which define a photo-absorbing region;
• selecting a periodic interval to provide the strain-compensation layers within the absorber layer at the thickness corresponding to the determined layer thickness ratio such that the strain-compensation layers are substantially electrically transparent to minority carriers;
• and
• growing the photodetector by alternatingly growing a plurality of photo-absorbing layers of a first alloy and the plurality of strain-compensation layers of a second alloy at the selected periodic interval within the photo-absorbing region such that the strain-compensating layers are substantially quantum-mechanically transparent while compensating for a mechanical strain of the photo-absorbing region on at least one of a substrate and a barrier layer in a lattice-mismatched condition wherein selecting the periodic interval further comprises selecting the periodic interval so that the strain-compensating layer thickness remains effectively quantum mechanically transparent without introducing significant confinement energy that offsets a wavelength extension from a change in photo-absorber composition.

A method of forming a strain-balanced extended-wavelength majority carrier filter barrier photodetector for a desired cutoff wavelength, comprising:

• determining a periodic interval at which to intersperse, within a photo-absorbing region, a plurality of strain-compensating layers such that the strain-compensating layers are substantially quantum-mechanically transparent while compensating for a mechanical strain of the photo-absorbing region on at least one of a substrate and a barrier layer in a lattice-mismatched condition;
• and
• growing the photodetector by alternatingly growing on at least one of the substrate and the barrier layer a plurality of photo-absorbing layers of a first alloy and the plurality of strain-compensating layers of a second alloy at the determined periodic interval within the photo-absorbing region wherein determining the periodic interval further comprises selecting a value for the periodic interval for providing strain-compensating layers at a thickness corresponding to a layer thickness ratio such that the strain-compensating layers are substantially electrically transparent to minority carriers;
• and
• wherein the selecting of the value for the periodic interval further comprises selecting the periodic interval so that the strain-compensating layer thickness remains effectively quantum mechanically transparent without introducing significant confinement energy that offsets a wavelength extension from a change in photo-absorber composition.