Mid-infrared two-photon absorption in an extended-wavelength InGaAs photodetector

Abstract

We investigate the nonlinear optical response of a commercial extended-wavelength In0.81Ga0.19As uncooled photodetector. Degenerate two-photon absorption in the mid-infrared range is observed using a quantum cascade laser emitting at λ = 4.5 μm as the excitation source. From the measured two-photon photocurrent signal, we extract a two-photon absorption coefficient β(2) = 0.6 ± 0.2 cm/MW, in agreement with the theoretical value obtained from the Eg−3 scaling law. Considering the wide spectral range covered by extended-wavelength InxGa1–xAs alloys, this result holds promise for applications based on two-photon absorption for this family of materials at wavelengths between 1.8 and 5.6 μm.