We have demonstrated the operation of a frontside-illuminated $\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}∕\mathrm{Al}\mathrm{Ga}\mathrm{As}$ quantum-well photodetector based on intersubband absorption in a quantum well (QW) with a targeted peak frequency of $3\mathrm{THz}$ . A multiple-quantum-well structure consists of 20 periods of $18\mathrm{nm}$ QWs interleaved by $80\mathrm{nm}$ barriers with an Al alloy content of 2%. We measured the following performance characteristics: dark current, responsivity, and spectral response. A responsivity of $13\mathrm{mA}∕\mathrm{W}$ at an electric bias of $40\mathrm{mV}$ and an operating temperature of $3\mathrm{K}$ was obtained with a peak response close to the designed detection frequency. The dark current density was a few $\mu \mathrm{A}∕{\mathrm{cm}}^2$ and was limited by thermally assisted tunneling through the barriers. We looked also at possible designs to optimize the device’s performance.

© 2008 Optical Society of America

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