Characterization of AlInN/GaN structures on AlN templates for high-performance ultraviolet photodiodes

The authors characterize AlInN/GaN structures on AlN templates for high-performance ultraviolet photodiodes. AlInN/GaN structures were grown with various growth parameters by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. In the case of nearly lattice-matched to GaN underlying layers, AlInN/GaN structures are found to have smooth interface. AlInN layers grown at the low pressure are confirmed to have high crystal quality from x-ray diffraction measurements and good surface morphology from atomic force microscope images. The noble AlInN-based photodiodes were fabricated. Their performances show the leakage current of 48 nA at a reverse voltage of 5 V and the cutoff wavelength around 260 nm. A cutoff-wavelength responsivity of 21.84 mA/W is obtained, corresponding to quantum efficiency of 10.6%. It may be possible to realize high-performance ultraviolet photodiodes by further optimizing AlInN/GaN structures. c 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3544425]