Design and Analytical Study of InGaN/GaN Multiple Quantum Wells Based Photodetector for UV Range

Photodetectors (PD) are employed in a wide range of applications from basic consumer electronics such as smoke alarms and DVD players, to more advanced uses like space exploration, missile system monitoring, etc. Many of these applications require to diagnose operations that work in the UV range and that too under low light intensity. In this regard, the present work discusses an analytical design and optimization of a photodetector to effectively operate in the UV region i.e., 320nm – 400nm, having the detection edge at 400nm. Group III-Nitrides are considered to be best suitable for the UV region because of their bandgap tunability that can be varied from 0.7eV(InN) to 6.1eV(AlN). The photodetector is implemented using InGaN/GaN multiple quantum wells (MQWs) heterogeneous structure. The optimized design has demonstrated over 50% quantum efficiency and quite a good responsivity, indicating that the design has the potential to work efficiently at UV wavelength range.