Copyright IPCO-2014

Vol.2
ISSN : 2356-5608

The simulation of InGaN/GaN/AlGaN MSM Photodetector

with SILVACO program
Zehor ALLAM1,Abdelkader HAMDOUNE2, Chahrazed BOUDAOUD3,Asmaa AMRANI4,Aicha SOUFI5,Zakia
NAKOUL6
Unity of Research “Materials and Renewable Energies”, Faculty of Science, University of Abou-bekr Belkaid,
PO Box 230, 13000, Tlemcen, ALGERIA
Phone: 00213-43-28-56-86
Fax: 00213-43-28-56-85
1
E-mail: zh1344@yahoo.fr

Abstract− In this paper, we consider an intrinsic low responsivity. MSM detectors exhibit
InGaN/GaN/AlGaN ultraviolet (UV) photodetector. low photoresponsivity mainly because the
We first describe internal characteristics.The device metallization for the electrodes shadows the
exhibited a very good current of about 1.5 mA it was active light collecting region.
found for -10V applied bias this is in good agreement
with the experimental value of current..The variation
of photocurrent versus optical wavelength In new technologies, the need for high quality
demonstrates a peak of 22.5 µA at a wavelength materials AlN, GaN, InN and their alloys AlGaN,
between 100 nm and 650nm, under -0.2 V bias. InGaN is a condition essentially. The basic
research is very important to understand the
Keywords− Gallium nitride (GaN), AlGAN, InGaN, mechanisms of growth and thus improve the
UV photodetector. quality of materials controlling the growth
conditions and also exploring new ways to
I.INTRODUCTION implement the ability of modern growth [3].

N-nitride semiconductor materials have recently II.MODEL AND STRUCTURAL DESIGN

attracted much interest in applications to optical First of all, basic device model is established
and electronic devices [1]. Wide band gap based on the nature of GaN, AlGaN and InGaN,
materials, especially III-V nitride materials, have and all of the simulated results are on the basis of
attracted extensive interest more and more for the drift-diffusion equations.
their applications in making light emitting The proposed structure of InGaN/GaN/AlGaN
devices, high-power and high-temperature UV photodetector is shown in Fig. 1; it was
electronic devices, and ultraviolet detectors. The simulated using ATHENA and ATLAS in
use of III-V nitrides for photoelectric detector SILVACO TCAD device simulation.
applications is expected to yield high
responsivity with low dark currents over a wide Pt Pt
range of temperatures. GaN and A1N have direct
band gaps of 3.4 and 6.2 eV, respectively. InGaN-0.1µm
Since they are miscible with each other and form
a complete series of AlGaN alloys, AlGaN has
direct band gaps from 3.4 to 6.2 eV, with GaN-0.01µm
corresponding cutoff wavelengths from 365 to
200 nm [2]. AlGaN-0.1µm
MSM photodiodes are comprised of two back-to-
back Schottky diodes by using an interdigitated
Substrat-silicon
electrode configuration on top of an active light
collection region.
This photodetector cannot operate at a zero bias.
MSM photodiodes are inherently fast due to their Fig.1. Structure of studied MSM UV
low capacitance per unit area and are usually photodetector with Pt electrodes.
transit time limited, not time constant limited. The relationships between AlxGa1-x N band gap
With electron beam lithography, the electrode Eg and the Al components x can be expressed as :
width and spacing can be made with submicron Eg (x) = x × Eg ( AlN) + (1− x) × Eg (GaN) − b × (1− x) × x
dimension which greatly improves the speed. The (1)
biggest drawback of MSM photodetectors is their
 Eg ( AlxGa1−x N ) = 6.28x + 3.42(1− x) −1.3× (1− x) × x
(2)
where Eg(AlN)= 6.2 eV, Eg(GaN)= 3.39 eV, and b=1
[4].
And the relationship between the band gap
energy (Eg) and the indium fraction (x) were
proposed using Vegard’s Law modified by a
bowing parameter (b):

Eg ( x) = x × Eg (GaN ) + (1 − x) × Eg (InN ) − b × (1 − x) × x
(3)

Where Eg.GaN =3.42 eV; Eg.InN = 0.77 eV and b

=1.43 eV [5].
The detector is based on a 0.1µm thick AlGaN
epitaxial layers grown on sapphire substrate by
metalorganic chemical vapor deposition
(MOCVD) [6]. The sample InGaN / GaN / Fig.3.Net doping of InGaN /GaN/AlGaN
photodetector.
AlGaN consisted of a temperature of 0.01 µm
thick low (550-C) GaN layer, at 0.1 µm of InGaN
thick at high temperature (1050-C) N layer Doping is a technique that can increase the
unintentionally doped, a layer 0.1µm thick amount of holes or electrons of a material by
temperature (1100-C) undoped AlGaN interlayer substituting a very small amount of its atoms with
and 0.3µm thick Silicon. With 250 nm of Pt film atoms of a different nature. We doping InGaN
was then deposited on the sample by RF layer with n-type the concentration of doping
magnetron sputtering. equal 1.10-19cm-3.We used the method of ion
The energy band diagram has been simulated implantation it is technique of doping interesting
using BLAZE tool, which is interfaced with because it allows precise control of the doping
ATLAS is a general purpose 2-D device profile. However, it must be followed by an
simulator for III–V, II–VI materials, and devices annealing required for the activation of dopants
with position dependent band structure (i.e., and reduction of disorder induced by
heterojunctions) [3]. BLAZE accounts for the implantation [7].
effects of positionally dependent band structure
by modifications to the charge transport III. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
equations .The net doping of MSM UV
photodetector, as shown in Fig.3. A two-dimensional numerical simulation of an
InGaN/GaN/AlGaN ultraviolet detector was
carried out using ATLAS software. A program
was developed separately in DECKBUILD
window interfaced with ATLAS for calculating
different characteristics of the photo detector.
The simulation included the solution of five
decoupled equations using Newton iteration
method. Carrier and doping densities were
calculated using Fermi-Dirac statistics. In
calculation of mobility the concentration
dependent model was used and for extracting the
electrical characteristics, the optical, SRH and
Auger recombination processes were taken into
account. Different recombination rates are given
as:

Rcopt = C copt ( pn − ni2 )

(1)

Fig.2. Energy band diagram.

 The internal polarization-III nitrides have a
2 character piezoelectric. This effect is defined as the
pn − n i
RSRH = creation of an electric field due to a mechanical
  
E   E  deformation, and conversely, as the creation of
τ pO  n + ni × exp  t   + τ nO  p + ni × exp  − t 
  kT     kT  mechanical deformation when applying an electric
(2)
field to a material. It is due to the lack of symmetry
in the crystal structure, the nature of the highly ionic
R Auger = C n ( p n 2 − nni2 ) + C p ( p 2 n − pni2 )
chemical bonds and distortion present in the crystal
(3) (due to lattice mismatch between the material and
pn − ni2 the substrate, for example). The piezoelectric
Rsurf =
  E    E   polarization is not necessarily oriented in the same
τ peff  n + ni × exp  t   + τ neff  p + ni × exp  − t   direction as the internal polarization. It depends on
  kT    kT 
(4) the material properties [9].

opt The electric field and the potential across the

Here Cc is the capture rate of carriers; Cn and Cp
are Auger coefficients for electrons and holes structure shown in Fig.4 and Fig.5, confirm the
respectively; n and p are equilibrium electron and presence of barriers at the interfaces despite an
hole concentration, Et is energy level of trap; ni is electric field in the largest N-type InGaN,
intrinsic carrier concentration; τ n 0 and τ p 0 are promoting separation of photo-generated carriers.
Finally, the carrier concentration through
SRH lifetime of electrons and holes respectively;
consequently there is a phenomenon of
τ neff and τ eff
p are effective life times of electrons accumulation of electrons at
and holes respectively [8]. interfaces.This strong field will create a potential
barrier for electrons at the interface, as shown in
Fig.5.
In the interface metal /semiconductor is a potential
barrier for electrons is the difference in work
function between the metal and the semiconductor.
This causes the formation of heterojunction a
potential well in the small-gap material in which
electrons from the donor layer are transferred and
accumulated. The heterojunction is characterized by
the discontinuity of the energy of the conduction
band between the two materials, plus the value of
the energy of the conduction band is high, the
electron transfer from the donor layer to the channel
will be better In addition, over the material of the
channel will be small gap, the transport properties
(speed, mobility) will be better.
The simulated current density is shown in Fig.6. We
Fig.4. Simulated electric field profile in absence of observe a high value of current density in the layer
external biasing. InGaN : 0.215 A/cm2 for reverse bias up to 0.5 V.

Fig.5. InGaN/GaN/AlGaN internal potential. Fig.6. Conduction current density.

The photodetector has the smallest gap, has the between Au and InGaN. Also it is confirmed by
highest current density. Indeed, because of its low Electron Beam induced current measurements. The
gap, most of the photons arriving at the diode has an apparently rectifying current
photodetector are based InGaN have energy equal characteristic.
to or greater than the gap producing a high current Fig. 8 shows I–V characteristics of the simulated
density. When the gap increases, the voltage InGaN/GaN photodetector.
increases but also fewer photons have sufficient We find a current of about 1.5 mA it was found for
energy to be absorbed, reducing the current density -10V applied bias this is in good agreement with the
of photodetector. experimental value of current.
The variation of photocurrent of
The mechanism of optical gain in InGaN quantum InGaN/GaN/AlGaN photodetector as a function of
wells of UV photodetector real is not yet fully wavelength at a bias voltage of -0.2V is shown in
understood. It can be strongly affected by non- Fig.8. We can optimize the performance of the
uniform distribution. Internal bias fields tend to device by changing the doping concentration and
separate quantum confined electrons and holes, dimensions of the device for high bandwidth
which reduces the optical gain and spontaneous performance.
emission. However, the screening of the electrons This structure provides a spectral response
and holes are provided to remove bias fields at high broadband UV and visible range. It is particularly
current operation [10]. suitable for applications in the ultraviolet and
visible from 100 nm to 650 nm with a peak current
equal 2.25.10-5A is a good result it is possible that
good performance because the use of InGaN and
the substrate silicon in the structure of
photodetector.

VI.CONCLUSION
In this paper, we studied an
InGaN/GaN/AlGaN photodetector device.
Modeling and simulation were performed by using
ATLAS-TCAD simulator. Energy band diagram,
conduction current density, internal potential and
Fig.7(a).I-V curve in Fig.7(b).I-V curve in
InGaN/GaN/AlN InGaN/GaN/AlN electric field were performed.
photodetector in the linear photodetector in the The device exhibited a very good current of
case. logarithmic case. about 1.5mA.The variation of photocurrent versus
optical wavelength demonstrates a peak of 22.5 µA
at a wavelength between 100 nm and 650nm, under
Fig.7.I-V curve in InGaN/GaN/AlN photodetector. -0.2 V bias.
The simulation and modeling described in this
work can be used for optimizing the existing
ultraviolet detectors and developing new devices.

Fig.8. Photocurrent as a function of optical wavelength,

for -0.5V.

A Schottkey Contact is formed between the InGaN

and Au metal determined by the I-V curve measured
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