The transition mechanisms of a ten-period InAs/GaAs quantum-dot infrared photodetector

This study explores the growth and effects of a ten-period InAs/GaAs quantum-dot infrared photodetector (QDIP). With a uniform quantum-dot (QD) size distribution and a QD density of 2.8×10¹⁰ cm^-2, this 10 K photoluminescence spectrum shows a peak energy at 1.07 eV and a narrow full width at half maximum of 31.7 meV. The QDIP exhibits an asymmetric response under different voltage polarities and a high responsivity of 1.7 A/W at -1.1 V. Another noticeable observation in the spectral response of the device is the 6 μm peak detection wavelength with a high spectral broadening Δλ/λ of 0.67. By analyses of the photoluminescence excitation spectrum and the temperature dependence of spectral response, the wide spectral response of the QDIP is attributed to the summation of transitions between QD excited states and the wetting layer states, instead of transitions between QD ground state and higher excited states.