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Extraction of Mobility from Quantum Transport Calculations of Type-II Superlattices

John Glennon1,*, Francesco Bertazzi2, Alberto Tibaldi2, and Enrico Bellotti1,3

  • 1Division of Material Science and Engineering (MSE), Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
  • 2Department of Electronics and Telecommunications (DET), Politecnico di Torino and IEIIT-CNR, Torino 10129, Italy
  • 3Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA

  • *jglennon@bu.edu
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Phys. Rev. Applied 19, 044045 – Published 17 April, 2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.19.044045

Abstract

Type-II superlattices (T2SLs) are being investigated as an alternative to traditional bulk materials in infrared photodetectors due to predicted fundamental advantages. Subject to significant quantum effects, these materials require the use of quantum transport methodologies, such as the nonequilibrium Green’s function (NEGF) formalism to fully capture the relevant physics without uncontrolled approximations. Carrier mobility is a useful parameter that affects carrier collection in photodetectors. This work investigates the application of mobility extraction methodologies from quantum transport simulations in the case of T2SLs exemplified using an InAs/GaSb midwave structure. In a resistive region, the average velocity can be used to calculate an apparent mobility that incorporates both diffusive and ballistic effects. However, the validity of this mobility for predicting device properties is limited to cases of diffusive limited transport or when the entire device can be included in the simulation domain. Two methods that have been proposed to extract diffusive limited mobility, one based on approximating the ballistic component of transport and the other which considers the scaling of resistance with simulation size, were also studied. In particular, the resistance scaling approach is demonstrated to be the method most physically relevant to predicting macroscopic transport. We present a method for calculating the mobility from resistance scaling considerations that accounts for carrier density variation between calculations, which is particularly relevant in the case of electrons. Finally, we comment on the implications of applying the different mobility extraction methodologies to device property predictions. The conclusions of this study are not limited to T2SLs, and may be generally relevant to quantum transport mobility studies.

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Phys. Rev. Applied 19, 044045– Published 17 April, 2023
  • Received 10 November 2022
  • Revised 1 March 2023
  • Accepted 13 March 2023
Article part of CHORUS
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