ITO-Schottky Photodiodes for High-Performance Detection in the UV–IR Spectrum

High-performance vertically illuminated Schottky photodiodes with indium-tin-oxide (ITO) Schottky layers were designed, fabricated, and tested. Ternary and quarternary III-V material systems (AlGaN-GaN, AlGaAs-GaAs, InAlGaAs-InP, and InGaAsP-InP) were utilized for detection in the ultraviolet (UV) (/spl lambda/<400 nm), near-IR (/spl lambda//spl sim/850 nm), and IR (/spl lambda//spl sim/1550 nm) spectrum. The material properties of thin ITO films were characterized. Using resonant-cavity-enhanced (RCE) detector structures, improved efficiency performance was achieved. Current-voltage, spectral responsivity, and high-speed measurements were carried out on the fabricated ITO-Schottky devices. The device performances obtained with different material systems are compared.