Monolithic integration of visible GaAs and near-infrared InGaAs for multicolor photodetectors by using high-throughput epitaxial lift-off toward high-resolution imaging systems

Sci Rep. 2019 Dec 9;9(1):18661. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-55159-x.

Abstract

In this study, multicolor photodetectors (PDs) fabricated by using bulk p-i-n-based visible GaAs and near-infrared InGaAs structures were monolithically integrated through a high-throughput epitaxial lift-off (ELO) process. To perform multicolor detection in integrated structures, GaAs PDs were transferred onto InGaAs PDs by using a Y2O3 bonding layer to simultaneously detect visible and near-infrared photons and minimize the optical loss. As a result, it was found that the GaAs top PD and InGaAs bottom PD were vertically aligned without tilting in x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurement. A negligible change in the dark currents for each PD was observed in comparison with reference PDs through electrical characterization. Furthermore, through optical measurements and simulation, photoresponses were clearly revealed in the visible and near-infrared band for the material's absorption region, respectively. Finally, we demonstrated the simultaneous multicolor detection of the visible and near-infrared region,which implies individual access to each PD without mutual interference. These results are a significant improvement for the fabrication of multicolor PDs that enables the formation of bulk-based multicolor PDs on a single substrate with a high pixel density and nearly perfect vertical alignment for high-resolution multicolor imaging.