Carrier lifetime measurements in short-period InAs/GaSb strained-layer superlattice structures

Minority carrier lifetime and interband absorption in midinfrared range of spectra were measured in InAs/GaSb strained-layer superlattices (SLSs) grown by molecular beam epitaxy on GaSb substrates. The carrier lifetime in 200-period undoped 7 ML InAs/8 ML GaSb SLS with AlSb carrier confinement layers was determined by time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) and from analysis of PL response to sinwave-modulated excitation. Study of PL kinetics in frequency domain allowed for direct lifetime measurements with the excess carrier concentration level of 3.5×1015 cm−3. The minority carrier lifetime of 80 ns at T=77 K was obtained from dependence of the carrier lifetime on excitation power.