Patent Application
20190267509
The present invention relates to a light-receiving element and a near infrared light detector. More specifically, the present invention relates to a light-receiving element which has an absorption layer of germanium (Ge), is capable of efficiently receiving near infrared light with high light-receiving sensitivity in the absorption layer from free space, and is produced with high productivity and low production cost. Further, the present invention relates to a near infrared light detector provided with the light-receiving element.
In the past, in measuring instruments such as a laser radar (ridar), for example, from the viewpoint of eye-safe, near infrared light with a wavelength of 1550 nm is projected from a light source and the light is received by a light-receiving element to measure the object. Currently, although there are various options regarding the light source, options for the light-receiving element are limited, and there are many problems.
As a conventional light-receiving element having a light-receiving sensitivity to these near infrared lights, from the viewpoint of low noise and fast response speed, for example, a compound semiconductor such as indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) is often used. However, the method using indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) has a problem that productivity is very poor and high manufacturing cost is required. Therefore, there is a need for a new light-receiving element which is high in productivity and may suppress the manufacturing cost.
Incidentally, a light-receiving element using germanium (Ge) as an absorbing layer is known as a light-receiving element having a light-receiving sensitivity in the near infrared region around a wavelength of 1550 nm without using indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs).
As such a light-receiving element, by using germanium (Ge) or silicon (Si)-germanium (Ge) as an intrinsic semiconductor, an optical element that absorbs light having a wavelength in the near-infrared region and is suitably usable for applications such as optical communication is disclosed (Patent document 1). Patent document 1 discloses an avalanche photodiode (APD) having a p-doped region, an intrinsic region and an n-doped region, and at least one of a p-doped region and an n-doped region is arranged in an array.
Further, as another example of the light-receiving element, a configuration of an avalanche photodiode (APD) having germanium (Ge) as an absorption layer and silicon (Si) as an amplification layer by growing germanium (Ge) on a silicon (Si) layer has been disclosed (Non-patent document 1). According to the light-receiving element of Non-patent document 1, although it is known that germanium (Ge) has a lot of noise, but by using silicon (Si) as an amplifying layer, it is possible to produce a sensor having a reduced noise and having sensitivity to the wavelength in the near infrared region as described above.
Since these optical elements are assumed to be used for optical communication applications, they are configured to have low power consumption and a high response speed. For this reason, usually, they have a configuration of using an absorption layer formed in a waveguide-shape to propagate and absorb light (refer to
However, these optical elements are supposed to be used for applications for optical communication, and it is difficult to use them for receiving light from free space. As described above, the light-receiving element used for optical communication uses a thin absorption layer, so that when used as a light-receiving element for receiving light from free space, the interaction length (L1 in
Patent document 1: JP-A 2014-107562
Non-patent document 1: Nature Photonics, 2010, 4, 527-534
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems and situation. An object of the present invention is to provide a light-receiving element which has an absorption layer of germanium (Ge), is capable of efficiently receiving near infrared light with high light-receiving sensitivity in the absorption layer from free space, and is produced with high productivity and low production cost. Further, it is possible to provide a near infrared light detector provided with the light-receiving element.
The present inventors have extensively investigated in order to solve the above problems. They found that near infrared light having high light-receiving sensitivity of the absorption layer can be efficiently received from free space by a light-receiving element including a substrate having thereon an amplification layer, and an absorption layer formed in this order, wherein the amplification layer has at least a p-Si layer and an n-Si layer, the absorption layer has at least a p-Ge layer, and this absorption layer has a predetermined thickness L. Thus, the present invention has been achieved. That is, the above object of the present invention is solved by the following means.
wherein the amplification layer has an n-doped n-Si layer and a p-doped p-Si layer on the substrate in this order;
the absorption layer contains a p-doped p-Ge layer; and
a thickness L of the absorption layer satisfies Formula (1),
L<(ln 0.8)/α Formula (1)
wherein α represents an absorption coefficient of germanium (Ge) at a wavelength of light to be received.
wherein the absorption layer contains an i-Ge layer which is an intrinsic region, and
the i-Ge layer and the p-Ge layer are laminated on the amplification layer in this order.
wherein the absorption layer contains a second p-Ge layer between the i-Ge layer and the amplification layer.
wherein the absorption layer contains a highly p-doped p+-Ge layer compared with the p-Ge layer; and
the p+-Ge layer is laminated on the p-Ge layer
wherein the amplification layer has an i-Si layer which is an intrinsic region between the n-Si layer and the p-Si layer.
wherein the absorption layer has a thickness L of 7 μm or less.
wherein the light-receiving elements are arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array.
By the above-described embodiments of the present invention, it is possible to provide a light receiving element which has an absorption layer of germanium (Ge), is capable of efficiently receiving near infrared light with high light-receiving sensitivity in the absorption layer from free space, and is produced with high productivity and low production cost. Further, it is possible to provide a near infrared light detector provided with the light-receiving element. The action mechanism of the above-described effect is as follows.
A light-receiving element of the present invention includes a substrate having thereon an amplification layer containing silicon (Si), and an absorption layer containing germanium (Ge) laminated in this order. In the light-receiving element of the present invention, the absorption layer has at least a p-type doped p-Ge layer. In the p-Ge layer, carrier movement is slow but noise is small. Therefore, for example, by increasing the proportion of the p-Ge layer to increase the thickness of the absorption layer, it is possible to improve the light-receiving sensitivity (quantum efficiency) with suppressing the noise.
Further, the absorption layer according to the present invention satisfies the following formula, exp(−L×α)>0.8, wherein the absorption coefficient of germanium (Ge) at the wavelength of the light to be received is α. Namely, the absorption layer according to the present invention satisfies Formula (1): L<(ln 0.8)/α.
Satisfying the above formula (1) means that, when the thickness of the absorbing layer is L, 80% of the light to be received is absorbed by the absorbing layer. When absorbing light from free space, the light-receiving element can absorb much of the light. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a light-receiving element with high light receiving sensitivity.
In addition, since the present invention as the amplification layer containing silicon (Si), it is possible to amplify the movement of the carrier moved from the absorption layer and allow a larger current to flow. Further, by using Si as the amplification layer, it is possible to obtain a sensor with low noise while being sensitive to light having an absorption wavelength of germanium (Ge).
In addition, since the light-receiving element of the present invention is a light-receiving element in which germanium (Ge) is laminated on a silicon (Si) layer, it may be manufactured using a silicon wafer having a large wafer size. Therefore, the productivity is high and the manufacturing cost may be kept low as compared with the method using silicon indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs) having a small wafer size.
A light-receiving element of the present invention includes a substrate having thereon an amplification layer containing silicon (Si), and an absorption layer containing germanium (Ge) laminated in this order. The light-receiving element of the present invention is characterized in that the amplification layer has an n-doped n-Si layer and a p-doped p-Si layer on the substrate in this order, the absorption layer contains a p-doped p-Ge layer, and a thickness L of the absorption layer satisfies the above-mentioned Formula (1). This feature is a technical feature common or corresponding to the following embodiments.
As an embodiment of the present invention, from the viewpoint of increasing the response speed, the absorption layer has an i-Ge layer which is an intrinsic region, and the i-Ge layer and the p-Ge layer are preferably formed on the amplification layer in this order. Also, it is preferable that the absorption layer has a second p-Ge layer between the i-Ge layer and the amplification layer.
In an embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the absorption layer has a p+-Ge layer doped at a higher concentration than the p-Ge layer in p-type, and the p+-Ge layer is laminated on the p-Ge layer. Thereby, the carrier mobility may be improved and the response speed may be increased. Also, in the band structure, since the Fermi level is different between the p-Ge layer and the p+-Ge layer, inclination occurs between the bands, and it is easy to extract electrons from the electrode. In addition, when the p+-Ge layer is laminated on the p-Ge layer, it is expected that electrons may be easily introduced to the amplification layer side. Further, the contact resistance with the electrode may be lowered.
In addition, as an embodiment of the present invention, from the viewpoint of obtaining a larger amplification effect by setting the amplification layer to have a pin structure, it is preferable that the amplification layer has an i-Si layer which is an intrinsic region between the n-Si layer and the p-Si layer.
In addition, as an embodiment of the present invention,
from the viewpoint of obtaining a sufficient response speed for using a device for measurement, it is preferable that the thickness L of the absorption layer is not more than 7 μm.
Further, the light-receiving element of the present invention may be suitably used, for example, for a near infrared light detector for absorbing light from free space. In the near infrared light detector, it is preferable that the light-receiving elements are arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array.
Hereinafter, the present invention, its constituent elements, and configurations and embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail. In the present application, “to” representing a numerical range is used to include numerical values described before and after the numerical range as a lower limit value and an upper limit value.
The near infrared light detector 100 of the present invention is equipped with a light-receiving element 10 that receives near infrared light and converts it into electricity, in the near infrared light detector 100, it is preferable that the light-receiving elements 10 are arranged in a one-dimensional or two-dimensional array.
The near infrared light detector 100 may be manufactured by, for example, patterning on an SOI (Silicon on Insulator) wafer using a known method. Specifically, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,812,495 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,318, it may be produced by growing germanium (Ge) on a silicon (Si) substrate 20 using a known UHV-CVD method.
The light-receiving element of the present invention comprises a substrate 20 having thereon an amplification layer 30 containing silicon (Si), an absorption layer 40 containing germanium (Ge) and an antireflection layer 50 laminated in this order, wherein the amplification layer 30 has an n-doped n-Si layer 31 and a p-doped p-Si layer 33 on the substrate in this order, the absorption layer 40 contains a p-doped p-Ge layer 42, and a thickness L of the absorption layer satisfies the following Formula (1).
L<(ln 0.8)/α Formula (1)
wherein α represents the absorption coefficient of germanium (Ge) at the wavelength of light to be received.
The detailed description of Formula (1) will be given later.
Specific examples of the layer structure of the light-receiving element 10 may be given below, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As indicated in the following examples, it is preferable that an antireflection layer 50 is provided on the upper surface of the absorption layer 40 since the absorption layer 40 containing germanium (Ge) has a large refractive index.
Further, as illustrated in an example below, it is also preferable that a light reflecting layer 60 is further laminated on the bottom side of the substrate 20 (the side opposite to the side provided with the absorbing layer 40).
In
In addition,
The substrate 20 is not particularly limited as long as the effect of the present invention may be obtained, for example, a silicon substrate is used.
The amplification layer 30 has at least an n-Si layer 31 doped with n-type and a p-Si layer 33 doped with p-type in this order on the substrate 20. Thereby it has a function to amplify the movement of carriers moved from the absorbing layer 40 and to allow a larger current to flow. Further, from the viewpoint of increasing the amplification amount, it is preferable that the amplification layer 30 is configured to have an i-Si layer 32 as an intrinsic region between the n-Si layer 31 and the p-Si layer 33 doped with p-type.
The doped regions of the n-Si layer 31 and the p-Si layer 33 may be formed by, for example, a known ion implantation method or a thermal diffusion method.
The thickness of the amplification layer 30 may be appropriately changed according to the applied voltage, and there is no particular limitation as long as a sufficient amplification effect may be obtained depending on the application.
The absorption layer 40 has at least a p-Ge layer 42 doped with p-type, and it has a function to absorb light having an absorption wavelength of germanium (Ge). The absorption layer 40 of the present invention is particularly suitable for absorbing light in the wavelength range of 1400 to 1550 nm which is the near infrared region.
Further, it is preferable to change the layer structure of the absorbing layer 40 as appropriate according to the noise level and the response speed required for the intended use. For example, when it is required to reduce noise, it is preferable to increase the proportion of the p-Ge layer 42 in the absorption layer 40, and all of them may be formed by the p-Ge layer 42. In addition, when it is required to increase the response speed, it is preferable that the absorption layer 40 is configured to have the i-Ge layer 41 as the intrinsic region. Specifically, it is preferable that the i-Ge layer 41 and the p-Ge layer 42 are laminated in this order on the amplification layer 30. Since the i-Ge layer 41 is located between the p-Ge layer 42 and the p-Si layer 33, when a reverse bias voltage is applied corresponding to the difference between the Fermi level of the p-Ge layer 42 and the p-Si layer 33, a slope as indicated in
Further, the absorption layer 40 may have a structure including the second p-Ge layer 44 between the i-Ge layer 41 and the amplification layer 30 (
Further, it is preferable to have a structure in which a p+-Ge layer 43 doped at a higher concentration than the p-Ge layer 42 is provided on the p-Ge layer 42. Thereby, the carrier mobility may be improved and the response speed may be increased. In addition, since the Fermi level is different between the p-Ge layer 42 and the p+-Ge layer 43 in the band structure, inclination occurs between the hands, so that it is easy to extract electrons from the electrode 71. In addition, when the p+-Ge layer 43 is laminated on the p-Ge layer 42, it is expected that electrons may be easily introduced to the amplification layer 30 side. Further, the contact resistance with the electrode 71 may be reduced. The p+-Ge layer 43 referred to in the present specification is defined as a Ge layer that is p-doped at a higher concentration than the p-Ge layer 42, as described above.
The doped regions of the p-Ge layer 42 and the p+-Ge layer 43 may be formed by, for example, a known ion implantation method or a thermal diffusion method.
The absorption layer 40 is formed, for example, by depositing Ge on the amplification layer 30 by epitaxial growth using GeH4 which is a raw material gas of germanium (Ge) by heating the substrate 20 and the amplification layer 30 to about 600° C.
The thickness L of the absorption layer 40 satisfies the following formula, wherein the absorption coefficient of germanium (Ge) at the wavelength of the light to be received is α.
exp(−L×α)>0.8
(α represents the absorption coefficient of germanium (Ge) at the wavelength of light to be received) Further, when the above formula is calculated with respect to L, the following formula (1) is obtained.
L<(ln 0.8)/α Formula (1)
Satisfying the above formula (1) means that, when the thickness of the absorbing layer 40 is L, 80% of the light to be received is absorbed by the absorbing layer 40.
For the case where the thickness of the absorbing layer 40 is 200 nm, 500 nm, 3 μm (3000 nm), and 5 μm (5000 nm), and when k=0.123 is used for the imaginary part of the complex refractive index, the result of calculation of the relationship between absorption wavelength (nm) and absorbance is shown in
Incidentally, in the case where all of the absorbing layers 40 are made of the p-Ge layer 42, when an electric field is not applied to the absorbing layer 40, electrons move through the absorbing layer 40 at the diffusion speed. In this case, if it is assumed that electrons move at a diffusion rate for an average time (so-called minority carrier lifetime) until electrons recombine with holes and disappear, the moving distance is about 7 μm. Therefore, from the viewpoint of facilitating transfer of carriers from the absorption layer 40 to the amplification layer 30 to electrons, it is preferable that the thickness of the absorption layer 40 is 7 μm or less. By setting the thickness of the absorbing layer 40 to 7 μm or less, it is possible to obtain a sufficient response speed when used for a device for measurement.
As the antireflection layer 50, from the viewpoint of efficiently suppressing reflection on the surface of the absorbing layer 40, the refractive index of the material that forms the antireflection layer 50 is preferably in the range of 1.2 to 3.5, and particularly preferably, in the range of 1.4 to 3.0.
Here, a graph indicating the relationship between the presence or absence of the antireflection layer 50 and the light reflectance is illustrated in
As a material having a refractive index in the range of 1.2 to 3.5, for example, it is preferable to use silicon nitride (SiN) having a refractive index of about 2.0, silicon dioxide (SiO2) having a refractive index of about 1.5, and silicon (Si) having a refractive index of about 3.5.
As the antireflection layer 50, from the viewpoint of efficiently suppressing reflection on the surface of the absorbing layer 40, it is also preferable that a fine uneven structure 51 is formed. For example, as the fine uneven structure 51, it is preferable to have a shape in which the substantial refractive index increases as approaching the absorption layer 40, and it is preferable to use a moth-eye structure as such a concavo-convex structure 51. As illustrated in the schematic diagram of
The substantial refractive index in the moth-eye structure is determined by the material of the ingredient that forms the moth-eye structure, the rate of change of the ratio of the structure to the space in the thickness direction of the cone shape, the pitch and depth of the concavities and convexities. Therefore, by adjusting these appropriately, it is only necessary to adjust the refractive index so as to fall within the range of 1.2 to 3.5 described above. The pitch of the concavities and convexities is preferably, for example, 1000 to 1600 nm, and the depth of the concavities and convexities is preferably 0.5 to 5 times the pitch, more preferably 1 to 3 times.
The antireflection layer 50 is preferably configured to have a multilayer structure in which a plurality of antireflection layers 50 are laminated, from the viewpoint of improving the light reception sensitivity by improving the antireflection performance. From the viewpoint of efficiently suppressing reflection on the surface of the absorbing layer 40, it is preferable that one or more layers of the antireflection layer 50 having an optical layer thickness of an odd multiple of (λ/4) is laminated, assuming that the wavelength of light to be received is λ. As a result, the light reflected on the upper surface and the lower surface in each layer provided in the antireflection layer 50 cancel each other, so that reflection of light may be effectively prevented.
When operating as an avalanche photodiode (APD) by applying reverse bias to the optical element, the SN ratio may be calculated by the following formula (A1).
In Formula (A1), symbols represent as follows: S: signal, N: noise, q: charge, η: quantum efficiency, Popt: power of incident light, h: Planck constant, v: optical frequency, Ip: shot noise current, IB: background light noise current, ID: dark current, F(M): noise factor, B: band, k: Boltzmann constant, T: absolute temperature, Req: load resistance, M: multiplication factor. Since the noise in the amplification layer 30 made of silicon (Si) is less than 1/100 of the noise of the absorption layer 40 made of germanium (Ge), it is ignored in the above calculation.
In the light-receiving element 10 of the present invention, as illustrated in
The light reflecting layer 60 is provided on the lower surface of the substrate 20 (the side opposite to the side provided with the absorbing layer 40). When light having passed through the absorbing layer 40 is present, at least a part of the light having passed through the substrate 20 is reflected so as to pass through the absorbing layer 40 again. Thereby, the absorption rate in the absorption layer 40 may be improved. The light reflecting layer 60 is not particularly limited as long as it can reflect at least a part of the near-infrared light as a light-receiving object, and it may be formed using either inorganic or organic materials, and the forming method is also not particularly limited. Specifically, for example, ITO (indium tin oxide) and ATO (antimony doped tin oxide) may be used as the inorganic material, and polycarbonate resin may be used as the organic material.
The embodiments of the present invention described above are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. That is, the scope of the present invention is defined not by the above description but by the scope of the claims, and it is intended that all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims are included.
The light-receiving element of the present invention is capable of efficiently receiving light from free space, has high productivity, and has low manufacturing cost, so it may be suitably used as a light-receiving element for measurement equipment such as a laser radar (ridar).
10: Light-receiving element
20: Substrate
30: Amplification layer
31: n-Si layer
32: i-Si layer
33: p-Si layer
40: Absorption layer
41: i-Ge layer
42: p-Ge layer
43: p+-Ge layer
44: Second p-Ge layer
50: Antireflection layer
51: Uneven structure
60: Light reflecting layer
100: Near infrared light detector
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-146578 | Jul 2016 | JP | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2017/026191 | 7/20/2017 | WO | 00 |
