Abstract:
This thesis is a study on the contribution of diffusion current to the spectral response of GaAlAs/GaAs heterojunction photodiode. The diffusion current is one of the factors that distorts photodiode output signal in time domain and decreases the speed of photodiode. Therefore, Ga0.6 AI0.4 As (P+) short wavelength window layer (SWWL) is inserted between Ga0.8AI0.2As (P+) main window layer (MWL) and GaAs (n) active region to suppress the diffusion current from the top window side and also Ga0.6 AI0.4 As (N+) or Ga0.6 AI0.4 As (I) long wavelength window layer (LWWL) is inserted underneath the GaAs (n) active region to suppress the diffusion from the substrate side. As a result, four different structures of heterojunction photodiodes, namely: Pin, PPin, PPiNn and PPiln, have been designed and the diffusion current of each structure is calculated and compared to each other. In conclusion, PPiNn Photodiode with the insertion of wide bandgap semiconductor layers of Ga0.6 AI0.4 As in front of active layer and substrate is the best structure for getting rid of the diffusion current. It is clearly seen that the thicker active layer has no any influence on the amount of diffusion current from top window layer while diminishing the diffusion current from substrate or near to substrate window layer and increasing the drift current and the total current. Besides, the photodiode which has thinner active layer gains more suffer from substrate diffusion current than the one which has thicker active layer. Finally, three structures of photodiodes are fabricated to prove the role of top window layer (double layer windows). The trend obtained from a comparison among experimental results conforms to the idea of the structural design. This confirms that using the short wavelength window layer and providing an appropriate thickness to the main window layer can bring about more effectiveness to abolish the spectral response edge in short wavelength range due to the diffusion current from top window layer.