ROOM-TEMPERATURE IR PHOTODETECTOR WITH ELECTROMAGNETIC CARRIER DEPLETION

The practical implementation of ambient temperature InSb electromagnetically carrier-depleted (EMCD) IR photodetectors is reported. The device is a lightly doped InSb photoconductor with a high backside surface recombination velocity, placed in a magnetic field. The carrier concentration in the most part of the device is highly reduced because of the action of the Lorentz force. This results in saturation of the I/V characteristics and the possible suppression of Auger recombination. The practical EMCD InSb photoconductor has been manufactured and characterised. The saturation of the I/V characteristic and the increase of photoresponse by a factor of ~ 10 has been achieved using a static electrical field of ~30V/cm and a magnetic field of about 1-5 T. The EMCD devices promise fast photodetectors with high responsivity operating at room temperature. © 1990, The Institution of Electrical Engineers. All rights reserved.