Molecular beam epitaxial growth and characterization of large-format GaSb-based IR photodetector structures [Invited]

GaSb-based infrared (IR) photodetectors are moving from a developmental phase into manufacturing, requiring among other things a shift to larger wafer diameters and volumes. We report on the multi-wafer molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of mid-wave IR nBn photodetector structures on 5-inch GaSb and 6-inch GaAs substrates. The 5 × 5-inch and 4 × 6-inch multi-wafer configurations exhibited excellent cross-wafer uniformity of standard epiwafer characteristics, including morphology, and structural and optical properties. Large-area mesa diode characteristics from these epiwafers are comparable to those grown on smaller diameter substrates. The results represent an important technological path toward next-generation large-format IR detector array applications.