Passivation of type-II InAs∕GaSb double heterostructure

Focal plane array fabrication requires a well passivated material that is resistant to aggressive processes. The authors report on the ability of type-II InAs∕GaSb superlattice heterodiodes to be more resilient than homojunctions diodes in improving sidewall resistivity through the use of various passivation techniques. The heterostructure consisting of two wide band gap (5μm) superlattice contacts and a low band gap active region (11μm) exhibits an R0A averaging of 13Ωcm2. The devices passivated with SiO2, Na2S and SiO2 or polyimide did not degrade compared to the unpassivated sample and the resistivity of the sidewalls increased to 47kΩcm.