(Invited) Fabrication of Pure-GaB Ge-on-Si Photodiodes for Well-Controlled 100-pA-Level Dark Currents

A. Sammak, M. Aminian, L. Qi, W. B. de Boer, E. Charbon, L. K. Nanver
2014 ECS Transactions  
The selective epitaxial growth of Ge-on-Si followed by in-situ deposition of a nm-thin Ga/B layer stack (PureGaB) has previously been shown to be a robust CMOS-compatible process for fabrication of Ge-on-Si photodiodes. In this paper, strategies to improve the control and reproducibility of PureGaB Ge-on-Si photodiode fabrication by reducing the local loading effects during the depositions are presented. As compared to the earlier PureGaB devices, the elimination of parasitic Ge and concomitant
more » ... in-situ As-doping from oxide regions surrounding the deposition windows leads to a well-controlled process flow that improves photodiode electrical and optical characteristics. For micrometer-sized diodes, ideality factors of less than 1.1 and dark current densities in the range of 15 µA/cm 2 at room temperature are now achieved. Moreover, improvements in the flatness of the Ge-island surface facilitated a process flow for contacting the diode perimeter while leaving a large oxide-covered PureGaB-only light-entrance window on the central photosensitive region. The optical characteristics of the photodiodes at the low temperature of 180 K display dark current densities of less than 150 pA/cm 2 and increased sensitivity towards infrared wavelengths. 10.1149/06406.0737ecst ©The Electrochemical Society ECS Transactions, 64 (6) 737-745 (2014) 737 ) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 131.180.131.242 Downloaded on 2015-02-25 to IP ECS Transactions, 64 (6) 737-745 (2014) 743 ) unless CC License in place (see abstract). ecsdl.org/site/terms_use address. Redistribution subject to ECS terms of use (see 131.180.131.242 Downloaded on 2015-02-25 to IP ECS Transactions, 64 (6) 737-745 (2014)
doi:10.1149/06406.0737ecst fatcat:xk2x4erlgnbirgyybjbdjosgky