High quantum efficiency back-illuminated GaN avalanche photodiodes

Back-illuminated avalanche photodiodes (APDs) composed of heterojunctions of either p-GaN/i-GaN/n-AlGaN or p-GaN/i-GaN/n-GaN/n-AlGaN were fabricated on AlN templates. At low voltage, an external quantum efficiency of 57% at 352 nm with a bandpass response was achieved by using AlGaN in the n-layer. Dependency of gain and leakage current on mesa area for these heterojunction APDs were studied. Back-illumination via different wavelength sources was used to demonstrate the advantages of hole-initiated multiplication in GaN APDs.