Temperature dependent carrier lifetime measurements of InAs/InAsSb T2SLs

Temperature dependent measurements of carrier recombination rates using a time-resolved pump-probe technique are reported for mid-wave infrared InAs/InAsSb type-2 superlattices (T2SLs). By engineering the layer widths and alloy compositions a 16 K band-gap of ~235 ± 10meV was achieved for four doped and five undoped T2SLs. Carrier lifetimes were determined by fitting lifetime models of Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), radiative, and Auger recombination processes simultaneously to the temperature and excess carrier density dependent data. The contribution of each recombination process at a given temperature is identified and the total lifetime is determined over a range of excess carrier densities. The minority carrier and Auger lifetimes were observed to increase with increasing antimony content and decreasing layer thickness for the undoped T2SLs. It is hypothesized that a reduction in SRH recombination centers or a shift in the SRH defect energy relative to the T2SL band edges is the cause of this increase in the SRH minority carrier lifetime. The lower Auger coefficients are attributed to a reduced number of final Auger states in the SL samples with greater antimony content. An Auger limited minority carrier lifetime is observed for the doped T2SLs, and it is found to be a factor of ten shorter than for undoped T2SLs. The Auger rates for all the InAs/InAsSb T2SLs were significantly larger than those previously reported for InAs/GaSb T2SLs.