All-optical time-resolved measurement techniques provide a powerful tool for investigating critical parameters that determine the performance of infrared photodetector and emitter semiconductor materials. Narrow-bandgap InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices (T2SLs) have shown great promise as a next generation source of these materials, due to superior intrinsic properties and versatility. Unfortunately, InAs/GaSb T2SLs are plagued by parasitic Shockley-Read-Hall recombination centers that shorten the carrier lifetime and limit device performance. Ultrafast pump-probe techniques and time-resolved differential transmission measurements are used here to demonstrate that Ga-free InAs/InAsSb T2SLs and InAsSb alloys do not have this same limitation and thus have significantly longer carrier lifetimes. Measurements at 77 K provided minority carrier lifetimes of 9 μs and 3 μs for an unintentionally doped mid-wave infrared (MWIR) InAs/InAsSb T2SL and InAsSb alloy, respectively; a two order of magnitude increase compared to the 90 ns minority carrier lifetime measured in a comparable MWIR InAs/GaSb T2SL. Through temperature-dependent lifetime measurements, the various carrier recombination processes are differentiated and the dominant mechanisms identified for each material. These results demonstrate that these Ga-free materials are viable options over InAs/GaSb T2SLs for potentially improved infrared photodetectors. In addition to carrier lifetimes, the drift and diffusion of excited charge carriers through the superlattice growth layers (i.e. vertical transport) directly affects the performance of photodetectors and emitters. Unfortunately, there is a lack of information pertaining to vertical transport, primarily due to difficulties in making measurements on thin growth layers and the need for non-standard measurement techniques. However, all-optical ultrafast techniques are successfully used here to directly measure vertical diffusion in MWIR InAs/GaSb T2SLs. By optically generating excess carriers near one end of a MWIR T2SL and measuring the transit time to a thin, 2 lower-bandgap superlattice placed at the other end, the time-of-flight of vertically diffusing carriers is determined. Through investigation of both unintentionally doped and p-type superlattices at 77 K, the vertical hole and electron diffusion coefficients are determined to be 0.04±0.03 cm2/s and 4.7±0.5 cm2/s, corresponding to vertical mobilities of 6±5 cm2/Vs and 700±80 cm2/Vs, respectively. These measurements are, to my knowledge, the first direct measurements of vertical transport properties in narrow-bandgap superlattices. Lastly, the widely tunable two-color ultrafast laser system used in this research allowed for the investigation of nonlinear optical properties in narrow-bandgap semiconductors. Time-resolved measurements taken at 77 K of the nondegenerate two-photon absorption spectrum of bulk n-type GaSb have provided new information about the nonresonant change in absorption and two-photon absorption coefficients in this material. Furthermore, as the nondegenerate spectrum was measured over a wide range of optical frequencies, a Kramers-Kronig transformation allowed the dispersion of the nondegenerate nonlinear refractive index to be calculated.

Photonic crystals (PhCs) are periodic dielectric structures that exhibit a photonic bandgap, i.e., a range of wavelength for which light propagation is forbidden. The special band structure related dispersion properties offer a realm of novel functionalities and interesting physical phenomena. PhCs have been manufactured using semiconductors and other material technologies. However, InP-based materials are the main choice for active devices at optical communication wavelengths. This thesis focuses on two-dimensional PhCs in the InP/GaInAsP/InP material system and addresses their fabrication technology and their physical properties covering both material issues and light propagation aspects. Ar/Cl2 chemically assisted ion beam etching was used to etch the photonic crystals. The etching characteristics including feature size dependent etching phenomena were experimentally determined and the underlying etching mechanisms are explained. For the etched PhC holes, aspect ratios around 20 were achieved, with a maximum etch depth of 5 microns for a hole diameter of 300 nm. Optical losses in photonic crystal devices were addressed both in terms of vertical confinement and hole shape and depth. The work also demonstrated that dry etching has a major impact on the properties of the photonic crystal material. The surface Fermi level at the etched hole sidewalls was found to be pinned at 0.12 eV below the conduction band minimum. This is shown to have important consequences on carrier transport. It is also found that, for an InGaAsP quantum well, the surface recombination velocity increases (non-linearly) by more than one order of magnitude as the etch duration is increased, providing evidence for accumulation of sidewall damage. A model based on sputtering theory is developed to qualitatively explain the development of damage. The physics of dispersive phenomena in PhC structures is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Negative refraction was experimentally demonstrated at optical wavelengths, and applied for light focusing. Fourier optics was used to experimentally explore the issue of coupling to Bloch modes inside the PhC slab and to experimentally determine the curvature of the band structure. Finally, dispersive phenomena were used in coupled-cavity waveguides to achieve a slow light regime with a group index of more than 180 and a group velocity dispersion up to 10^7 times that of a conventional fiber. / QC 20100712

Master´s thesis is focused on diagnostics of semiconductor materials by EBIC method (measuring of currents induced beam), determination of the lifetime of minority carriers, or their diffusion length. The theoretical part is aimed at the principle of scanning electron microscopy, the characteristic properties of the microscope and the signals generated by the interaction of the primary electron beam with the sample. The thesis describes a structure of semiconducting silicon, band models, types of lattice defects and doped of semiconductor structures. After that it is described the theory of calculation of the diffusion length of minority carriers in semiconductors of type N and P. The aim of the experiment part of the thesis is to measure the properties of the semiconductor structure by EBIC and determination of diffusion length and lifetime of minority charge carriers based on the measured data The aim of the experiment part of the thesis is to measure the properties of the semiconductor structure by EBIC and determination of diffusion length and lifetime of minority charge carriers on the basis of the measured data.