24/06/2017 WhatisInGaAs,orindiumgalliumarsenide?

|SensorsUnlimited

What Is InGaAs?

What is InGaAs?
InGaAs,orindiumgalliumarsenide,isanalloyofgalliumarsenideandindiumarsenide.Inamoregeneralsense,itbelongstotheInGaAsPquaternary
systemthatconsistsofalloysofindiumarsenide(InAs),galliumarsenide(GaAs),indiumphosphide(InP),andgalliumphosphide(GaP).Asgallium
andindiumbelongtoGroupIIIofthePeriodicTable,andarsenicandphosphorousbelongtoGroupV,thesebinarymaterialsandtheiralloysareallIII
Vcompoundsemiconductors.

Why go to all the trouble?

Toalargeextent,theelectricalandopticalpropertiesofasemiconductordependonitsenergybandgapandwhetherthebandgapis"direct"or
"indirect."Theenergybandgapsofthe4binarymembersoftheInGaAsPquaternarysystemrangefrom0.33eV(InAs)to2.25eV(GaP),withInP
(1.29eV)andGaAs(1.43eV)fallinginbetween.AtSUIweemphasizephotodetectors,sowecaremostabouttheopticalpropertiesof
semiconductors.Asemiconductorwillonlydetectlightwithphotonenergylargerthanthebandgap,orputanotherway,withawavelengthshorterthan
thecutoffwavelengthassociatedwiththebandgap.This"longwavelengthcutoff"worksoutto3.75mforInAsand0.55mforGaPwithInPat0.96
mandGaAsat0.87m.

Bymixingtwoormoreofthebinarycompounds,thepropertiesoftheresultingternaryandquaternarysemiconductorscanbetunedtointermediate
values.Thechallengeisthatnotonlydoestheenergybandgapdependonthealloycomposition,soalsodoestheresultinglatticeconstant.Forour
fourfriends,thelatticeconstantsrangefrom5.4505(GaP)to6.0585(InAs)withGaAsat5.6534andInPat5.8688.Therelationshipbetween
thelatticeconstantandthelongwavelengthcutoffofthe4ternaryalloysintheInGaAsPfamilyareshowninFigure1

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Let's get back to InGaAs..

TheInAs/GaAsalloyisreferredtoasInxGa1xAswherexistheproportionofInAsand1xistheproportionofGaAs.Thelatticeconstantsandlong
wavelengthcutoffsofthesealloysaredepictedastheredlinesinFigure1.Thechallengeisthatwhileit'spossibletomakethinfilmsofInxGa1xAsby
anumberoftechniques,asubstrateisrequiredtoholdupthethinfilm.Ifthethinfilmandthesubstratedonothavethesamelatticeconstant,thenthe
propertiesofthethinfilmwillbeseverelydegraded.

Forlotsofreasons,themostconvenientsubstrateforInxGa1xAsisInP.HighqualityInPsubstratesareavailablewithdiametersaslargeas100mm.
InxGa1xAswith53%InAsisoftencalled"standardInGaAs"withoutbotheringtonotethevaluesof"x"or"1x"becauseithasthesamelatticeconstant
asInPandthereforethecombinationleadstoveryhighqualitythinfilms.

StandardInGaAshasalongwavelengthcutoffof1.68m.Meaning,itissensitivetothewavelengthsoflightthatsuffertheleastsignaldispersionand
transmitfurthestdownaglassfiber(1.3mand1.55m),thereforedetecting"eyesafe"lasers(wavelengthslongerthan1.4m).Itistheoptimum
wavelengthbandfordetectingthenaturalglowofthenightsky.SUI'scoreproductlinesarebasedonPINandavalanchephotodiodesandphotodiode
arraysmadefromstandardInGaAs.TakethetimetobrowsethroughtherestofthesitetolearnaboutSUI'smanyofferingsincludingareaandline
scancameras,oneandtwodimensionalfocalplanearrays,andhighspeedphotodiodesandreceivers

So what is "extended wavelength" InGaAs and why bother?

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StandardInGaAshasalongwavelengthcutoffof1.68m.Manyapplicationsrequirethedetectionoflightwithlongerwavelengths.Animportant
exampleistheabilitytomeasuremoisturecontentinagriculturalproductsbymeasuringwaterabsorptionat1.9m.Anotherexampleis"LIDAR"(light
detectionandranging),usedinairplanestodetectclearairturbulence.LIDARsystemsoftenuselasersthatemitlightwithawavelengthof2.05m.
InxGa1xAswithalongercutoffiscalled"extendedwavelengthInGaAs."

ItseemsasifallonewouldhavetodoisaddalittlemoreInAstothemix,butit'snotsoeasy.Thisincreasesthelatticeconstantofthethinfilm,which
causesamismatchwiththesubstrate,andthisreducesthequalityofthethinfilm.SUIhasputalotofworkintolearningtogrowhighqualityextended
wavelengthInGaAs,andthisisreflectedinourproductofferings.TheresultsofoureffortsaresummarizedinFigure2.Figure2showsthequantum
efficiencyofstandardInGaAsinbluetogetherwiththequantumefficienciesoftwoextendedwavelengthalloys,X=0.74(green)andX=0.82(red).The
spectralresponseofsiliconisalsoshown.Asweliketosay,"InxGa1xAsstartswheresiliconleavesoff."

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