3D-MSM AlN Deep Ultraviolet Detector

Ultraviolet detectors are widely used in space exploration, military affairs, and disinfection. To further improve the responsivity and response time, we propose and demonstrate AlN three-dimensional metal-semiconductor-metal (3D-MSM) and flip chip 3D-MSM (FC-3DMSM) ultraviolet detector here. The performance of devices with different etching depth and electrode spacing has been investigated using APSYS simulation. According to the simulation results, we fabricated 0.5 μm-etched 3D-MSM (3D-MSM- 0.5 μm) and 1.3 μm-etched FC-3DMSM (FC-3DMSM- 1.3 μm) devices. Response time is decreased by 29.3% and 13.8% for 3D-MSM- 0.5 μm and FC-3DMSM- 1.3 μm devices, and responsiveness exhibits a 20.5% and 46.6% improvement at 200nm, compared with traditional MSM device. This is due to varied internal electric field distribution of 3D-MSM and FC -3DMSM device configuration, which accelerates the collection of photo-generated carriers and improves the carrier collection efficiency. Our work should advance the development of nitrides ultraviolet detectors.