Type-II p-GaAsSb/n-InAs multi-nanowire backward diodes for rectification of low-power RF signals under a zero-bias condition

Abstract

Zero-bias nanowire backward diodes (NW BWD) were fabricated, and RF-DC conversion properties were investigated at 2.4 GHz. Type-II p-GaAs0.6Sb0.4/n-InAs NW BWDs were grown on a GaAs(111)B substrate by adopting the vapor–liquid–solid growth method. The I–V relationship displayed a large nonlinear characteristic typical to BWDs. Multi-NW BWDs indicated appropriate detected voltages when a microwave input signal of 2.4 GHz and less than 1 μW was applied across them. Impedance-matched voltage sensitivities of 3.4 and 2.9 kV W−1 were obtained for 96- and 730-NW-array diodes; these values were comparable to those of well-designed Schottky diodes.

III–V nanowire backward diodes with high sensitivity above 1 MV W−1 for low-power microwave energy harvesting

“…A heterojunction of p-GaAs 0.4 Sb 0.6 and n-InAs was employed to form interband tunneling at the junction. In this study, antimony composition was increased to 0.6 from the previously reported value of 0.4, 17) in order to approximate ideal interband tunneling characteristics. The selective-area epitaxial growth and vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth methods were applied for the NW BWD growth, 24,25) as shown in Fig.…”

“…As the nanowires (NWs) enable the formation of the small junction area (<200 nm), the NW structure was introduced into the BWDs. 16,17) Sensitivity of the NW BWDs was improved by modifying growth conditions of the NWs and the device structures. 18,19) However, one drawback of BWDs is on their dynamic range, which was limited to below 0 dBm due to their low forward breakdown voltage (FBV) of around 0.4 V. 20) The adoption of extended anode structure in GaAsSb NWs 21,22) shows a significant improvement of the FBV, which signifies that the NW structure contributes not only on improving the sensitivity via the reduction of C j , but also in increasing the dynamic range of microwave power detection.…”

Achieving a high breakdown voltage for GaAsSb-based backward diodes using the carrier depletion effect originating from nanowires

“…The input power of the BWDs was limited to below 0 dBm because of their low breakdown voltage (BV) of around 0.4 V. 17,18) We have been developing a nanowire BWD, which is expected to improve the performance of BWDs by reducing their capacitance. 19,20) The nanowire BWDs demonstrated an improved forward BV, surpassing the mesa-type BWDs. We found that the size effect existed in the nanowire BWDs.…”