Quantum Cascade Detectors

Giorgetta, Fabrizio R.; Baumann, Esther; Graf, Marcel; Yang, Quankui; Manz, Christian; Köhler, Klaus; Beere, Harvey E.; Ritchie, David A.; Linfield, Edmund; Davies, Alexander G.; Fedoryshyn, Yuriy; Jackel, Heinz; Fischer, Milan; Faist, Jérôme; Hofstetter, Daniel

doi:10.1109/JQE.2009.2017929

Quantum Cascade Detectors

Author(s)

Giorgetta, Fabrizio R.

Baumann, Esther

Graf, Marcel

Yang, Quankui

Manz, Christian

Köhler, Klaus

Beere, Harvey E.

Ritchie, David A.

Linfield, Edmund

Davies, Alexander G.

Fedoryshyn, Yuriy

Jackel, Heinz

Fischer, Milan

Faist, Jérôme

Hofstetter, Daniel

Laboratoire temps-fréquence

Date issued

2009

In

IEEE Journal of Quantum Electronics, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), 2009/45/8/1039-1052

Subjects

Intersubband photodetectors quantum cascade detector high-speed semiconductor photodetectors

Abstract

This paper gives an overview on the design, fabrication, and characterization of quantum cascade detectors. They are tailorable infrared photodetectors based on intersubband transitions in semiconductor quantum wells that do not require an external bias voltage due to their asymmetric conduction band profile. They thus profit from favorable noise behavior, reduced thermal load, and simpler readout circuits. This was demonstrated at wavelengths from the near infrared at 2 <i>μ</i>m to THz radiation at 87 <i>μ</i>m using different semiconductor material systems.