Germanium-Tin (GeSn) Metal-Semiconductor-Metal (MSM) Near-Infrared Photodetectors

Narrow-bandgap germanium–tin (GeSn) is employed to fabricate metal–semiconductor–metal (MSM) near-infrared photodetectors with low-dark currents and high responsivity. To reduce the dark current, the SiO₂ layer is inserted in between the metal and semiconductor to increase the barrier height, albeit at the expense of photocurrent reduction. To couple more incident light into the absorption layer to enhance the responsivity, the distributed Bragg reflectors (DBRs) are deposited at the bottom of the GeSn substrate while placing the anti-reflection layer on the surface of the absorption layer. With the interdigital electrode spacing and width, both set at 5 µm and with 1 V bias applied, it is found the responsivities of the generic MSM control sample detector, the MSM with DBR, and the MSM with AR layer are 0.644 A/W, 0.716 A/W, and 1.30 A/W, respectively. The corresponding specific detectivities are 8.77 × 10¹⁰, 1.11 × 10¹¹, and 1.77 × 10¹¹ cm·Hz^1/2/W, respectively. The measurement data show that these designs effectively enhance the photocurrent and responsivity. At 1 V bias voltage, normalized responsivity evinces that the photodetection range has been extended from 1550 nm to over 2000 nm, covering the entire telecommunication band. Incorporating GeSn as a sensing layer offers one of the new alternative avenues for IR photodetection.