Analysis Of Surface Oxides On Narrow Bandgap Iii-V Semiconductors Leading Towards Surface Leakage Free Ir Photodetectors

Narrow bandgap semiconductors GaSb, InAs, and InSb are important building blocks for infrared photodetectors based on type-II InSb quantum dots or an InAs/GaSb strained layer superlattice. Understanding the surface chemical composition of these materials can provide valuable information that enables optimization of device surface passivation techniques leading towards surface leakage free IR photodetectors. We report on an investigation into Ga-, In-, Sb-, and As-oxides and other chemical species on the surface of untreated, dry etched and thermally treated GaSb, InAs and InSb samples by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The experimental results reveal the presence of Sb- and Ga-oxides on the surfaces of the untreated and treated GaSb samples. Both Sb- and In-oxides were observed on the surface of all InSb samples, and especially the dry etched sample had thicker oxide layers. In the case of the InAs samples, not only In-and As-oxides XPS signals were obtained, but also AsCl species were found on the ICP dry etched sample. These results helped to analyze the dark current of our fabricated IR detectors.