CAREER: Avalanche-Free Single Photon Detectors Based on Type-II Heterojunctions and Nano-Switches

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Mohseni0547227Compact solid-state single photon detectors are regarded as enabling components in a wide range of applications such as biophotonics, tomography, homeland security, non-destructive material inspection, astronomy, and quantum key distribution. Despite the astonishing progress of these fields in recent years, there has been little progress in the performance of single photon detectors, and hence the detector is quickly becoming the bottleneck in these fields. Some of the important shortcomings of the current single photon detectors are: poor quantum efficiency, high dark count rates, lack of imaging arrays, severe cooling requirement for longer wavelengths, and low bandwidth. Intellectual Merit:The goal of this CAREER program is to develop a novel avalanche-free single photon detector that can address most of the above problems. A new device modeling approach will be developed that is capable of modeling the micro and nano-components of this device seamlessly. The modeling will be used to optimize the epitaxial structure of the device, as well as the device geometry. Optimized devices will be evaluated, and the measurement results will be used to fine-tune the model over several cycles during the program. Broader Impact:Realization of a high-performance single photon detector beyond visible range has a significant impact in the quality of life, manifested by its wide medical, industrial, security, and scientific applications. Also, we will incorporate some of the results of this research in the solid-state courses and advanced courses on infrared detectors. The simulation software that will be developed provides a unique avenue for the students to design detectors with nanometer size regions and see their performance during these courses. Undergraduate and graduate students from under-represented and minority groups will be encouraged to take part in this research. We plan to take advantage of Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professorate program at Northwestern University in this regard.