Abstract
We report on the intensity dependence of the responsivity in quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIP). A strong reduction of the responsivity is observed already at small excitation powers for a QWIP with N=4 periods. This nonlinearity is caused by a partial screening of the electric field across the main part of the active region. The intensity dependence is analyzed using a phenomenological approach, which allows us to calculate the nonlinearity from the measured dark current and responsivity. Applying this approach to a background-limited 50 period QWIP, we find that the nonlinearity is already present below 1 mW cm-2, which is less than the thermal background.
| Original language | English |
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| Pages (from-to) | 2011-2013 |
| Number of pages | 3 |
| Journal | Applied Physics Letters |
| Volume | 71 |
| Issue number | 14 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 6 Oct 1997 |