1. MOCVD Grown GaN/AlGaN Quantum Cascade Detectors
Pranav Badami,1 Yu Song,1 Chung-En Zah2, Rajaram Bhat2, Claire F. Gmachl1
1 – Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
2 – Corning Incorporated, Corning, NY 14831, USA

2. Internship Information
Mid-Infrared Technologies for Health and Environment: Princeton, NJ
Trace Gas Detection ( *
GAS
>
Quantum Cascade Detector

3. Environmental Applications
Applications:
Greenhouse gas sensing
Methane leaks
Farm monitoring 3

4. Methane absorbs 3.2 micron Requires new material system –
Challenges
Methane absorbs 3.2 micron
Requires new material system –
GaN/AlGaN

5. Low-wavelength detection High-speed detection
GaN / AlGaN QCD
Necessities:
Scalable production
Low-wavelength detection
High-speed detection

6. Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition
Improvements
Metal Organic Chemical Vapor Deposition
(MOCVD)
GaN : large conduction band offset
AlGaN : reduced scattering lifetime

7. Fabrication and Testing
- Many hours in the cleanroom - Processed detector device with windows on top

8. Results and Measurements
Photocurrent
Spectrum
Noise
Low noise and photocurrent for short wavelengths.
First of it’s kind to be commercially viable!

9. Acknowledgements and Future Plans
Summary: First MOCVD grown GaN/AlGaN quantum
detector
Skills: presented work, coauthored conference paper
ITQW 2013, Cleanroom, presentation, semiconductors
Thank you to the PEI Grand Challenges program for the opportunity and funding.