Resonant tunneling diodes based on ZnO for quantum cascade structures (Conference Presentation)

Borislav Hinkov; Benedikt Schwarz; Andreas Harrer; Daniela Ristanic; Werner Schrenk; Maxime Hugues; Jean-Michel Chauveau; Gottfried Strasser

doi:10.1117/12.2252753

20 April 2017 Resonant tunneling diodes based on ZnO for quantum cascade structures (Conference Presentation)

Borislav Hinkov, Benedikt Schwarz, Andreas Harrer, Daniela Ristanic, Werner Schrenk, Maxime Hugues, Jean-Michel Chauveau, Gottfried Strasser

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 10123, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers XVI; 101231G (2017) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2252753
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2017, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The terahertz (THz) spectral range (lambda ~ 30µm – 300µm) is also known as the “THz-gap” because of the lack of compact semiconductor devices. Various real-world applications would strongly benefit from such sources like trace-gas spectroscopy or security-screening. A crucial step is the operation of THz-emitting lasers at room temperature. But this seems out of reach with current devices, of which GaAs-based quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) seem to be the most promising ones. They are limited by the parasitic, non-optical LO-phonon transitions (36meV in GaAs), being on the same order as the thermal energy at room temperature (kT = 26meV). This can be solved by using larger LO-phonon materials like ZnO (E_LO = 72meV). But to master the fabrication of ZnO-based QC structures, a high quality epitaxial growth is crucial followed by a well-controlled fabrication process including ZnO/ZnMgO etching. We use devices grown on m-plane ZnO-substrate by molecular beam epitaxy. They are patterned by reactive ion etching in a CH4-based chemistry (CH4:H2:Ar/30:3:3 sccm) into 50μm to 150μm square mesas. Resonant tunneling diode structures are investigated in this geometry and are presented including different barrier- and well-configurations. We extract contact resistances of 8e-5 Omega cm^2 for un-annealed Ti/Au contacts and an electron mobility of above 130cm^2/Vs, both in good agreement with literature. Proving that resonant electron tunneling can be achieved in ZnO is one of the crucial building blocks of a QCL. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 665107.

Conference Presentation

Citation Download Citation

Borislav Hinkov, Benedikt Schwarz, Andreas Harrer, Daniela Ristanic, Werner Schrenk, Maxime Hugues, Jean-Michel Chauveau, and Gottfried Strasser "Resonant tunneling diodes based on ZnO for quantum cascade structures (Conference Presentation)", Proc. SPIE 10123, Novel In-Plane Semiconductor Lasers XVI, 101231G (20 April 2017); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2252753

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KEYWORDS

Zinc oxide

Diodes

Quantum cascade lasers

Etching

Gallium arsenide

Molecular beam epitaxy

Reactive ion etching

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