Gallium antimonide - Based photodiodes and thermophotovoltaic devices

Abstract

This paper briefly presents some important aspects of the GaSb-based material growth, as well as the performance of photodiodes and TPV devices for the 0.9-2.55 mu m spectral range. A reproducible technique has been developed for the production of high-speed and high-efficiency GaSb/GaInAsSb/GaAlAsSb photodiodes. The detectivity of the photodiodes, estimated from the measured noise level and monochromatic current sensitivity, in the spectral peak reaches D*(lambda(max), 1000,1)=(0.8-1.0)x10(11) W(-1)xcmxHz(1/2) at room temperature. Recently, we have adapted the technology for creating GaInAsSb (0.52-0.53 eV band gap) TPV devices. Based on the our results we believe a 0.5 eV band gap GaSb-based TPV cell with an open-circuit voltage well over 300 mV at current 2-3 A is a realistic near-term goal.