Characteristics of a tunneling quantum-dot infrared photodetector operating at room temperature

Abstract

We report high-temperature (240–300K) operation of a tunneling quantum-dot infrared photodetector. The device displays two-color characteristics with photoresponse peaks at ∼6μm and 17μm. The extremely low dark current density of 1.55A∕cm2 at 300K for 1V bias is made possible by the tunnel filter. For the 17μm absorption, the measured peak responsivity is 0.16A∕W (300K) for a bias of 2V and the specific detectivity D* is 1.5×107cmHz1∕2∕W (280K) for a bias of 1V. Excellent performance characteristics are also measured for the 6μm photoresponse.