The theory of the photoabsorption in n-type Si-SiGe quantum well infrared photodetectors

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Abstract
The theory of multiple quantum well n‐type Si‐SiGe infrared detectors is presented. The coefficient of photoabsorption, quantum efficiency, and responsivity of Si‐SiGe quantum well (QW) detectors are calculated taking in consideration the effects of depolarization and electron‐electron exchange interaction. We show that the Si‐SiGe quantum well detectors possess lower dark current, lower tunneling rates, and better photoabsorption characteristics including responsivity when compared to GaAs‐AlGaAs photodetectors. These imply that Si‐SiGe QW detector performance characteristics are superior to GaAs‐AlGaAs QW infrared photodetectors aside from its advantage of compatibility to Si‐readout circuity.