Group III-nitride materials for ultraviolet detection applications

Abstract

High performance UV detectors have been fabricated using group III-nitride materials grown by molecular beam epitaxy. GaN PIN detectors exhibit near quantum efficiency limited responsivity, sharp spectral cutoff, and high shunt resistance of several hundred mega-ohms for 0.5 mm<SUP>2</SUP> active area devices. Comparison of PIN and Schottky devices is presented. The capabilities of group III-nitride based UV detectors is discussed in relation to suitability in UV sensing applications such as high temperature flame sensing, UV-B solar radiation monitoring, and high intensity UV dosimetry.