Photodetector device with integrated high-contrast grating polarizer

The photodetector device comprises a substrate (1) of semiconductor material, a sensor region (2) in the substrate, a plurality of grid elements (4) arranged at a distance (d) from one another above the sensor region, the grid elements having a refractive index, a region of lower refractive index (3), the grid elements being arranged on the region of lower refractive index, and a further region of lower refractive index (5) covering the grid elements.

The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor devices for the detection of electromagnetic radiation.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The electric and magnetic field vectors of electromagnetic radiation are perpendicular to each other and to the direction of propagation. In polarized light, the distribution of these vectors is not arbitrary, but ordered rather. Linear polarization is characterized by a constant direction of the electric field vector. Circular polarization is present when the electric field vector has a constant length and rotates around the direction of propagation. These are special cases of elliptical polarization, in which the terminal point of the electric field vector describes an ellipse in any fixed plane that is normal to and intersects the direction of propagation.

The signal-to-noise ratio of a photodiode can be enhanced if only certain states of polarization are detected. This is especially favorable when ambient light, in particular bright sunlight, interferes with the reception of a light signal to be detected and the signal has a lower intensity than the ambient light.

Polarizing filters are used in cameras to reduce oblique reflections from non-metallic surfaces, in particular light reflected from the ground. Time-of-flight sensors emit a polarized laser beam, which is reflected from a surface and detected by the sensor. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide means to only detect light having the same state of polarization as the laser, while filtering out the other undesired states of polarization.

Wire grid polarizers comprise parallel wires or similar lines of metal arranged at equal distances from one another in a plane that is oblique or perpendicular to the incident light. Electrons in the wires are driven in the direction of the electric field vector of an electromagnetic wave propagating through the wire grid. The unrestricted movement of electrons along the longitudinal extension of the wires makes the wire grid act as a mirror, whereas the movement of the electrons in the transverse direction is confined by the small width of the wires. Hence the vector component of the electric field vector that is parallel to the direction of the longitudinal extension of the wires defines a portion of the incident light that is essentially reflected, whereas the vector component of the electric field vector that is perpendicular to the direction of the longitudinal extension of the wires defines a portion of the incident light that is essentially transmitted. The electric field vector of the transmitted light is therefore perpendicular to the wires, and a linear polarization is thus obtained by the wire grid.

The sum of the width of one wire and the distance between adjacent wires is the pitch of the grid and corresponds to a minimal period of the regular lattice formed by the grid. The distance between adjacent wires is typically smaller than the wavelength of the radiation.

Wire grid polarizers are used in semiconductor devices. In a CMOS process, for instance, parallel metal lines forming a wire grid can be produced in the back end of line, where the components of an integrated circuit are electrically connected by a wiring including structured metallization layers embedded in an intermetal dielectric.

High-contrast grating-based reflectors are used as reflectors in advances vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs). These reflectors have the property that only one state of polarization is reflected thus fostering emission with one polarization state only. Moreover, high-contrast grating reflectors consisting of a single layer are easier to manufacture than the commonly use Bragg-reflectors, where about 30 to 50 layers are requires to achieve a meaningful reflection coefficient.

US 2007/0115553 A1 discloses a sub-wavelength grating structure for broadband mirrors and high-reflectivity gratings. The device comprises a substrate layer of silicon, a layer of low refractive index, like SiO2, and sections of a material of high refractive index, like polysilicon, spaced apart from one another and arranged on the layer of low refractive index.

US 2014/0353583 A1 and US 2014/0353530 A1 disclose polarization independent photodetectors with high-contrast gratings arranged above an air gap.

M. Guillaumée et al., “Polarization sensitive silicon photodiodes using nanostructured metallic grids”, Applied Physics Letters 94, 193503 (2009), present design, fabrication and characterization of wire grid polarizers with dimensions that are compatible with CMOS technology.

W. Hofmann et al., “Long-Wavelength High-Contrast Grating Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Laser”, IEEE Photonics Journal 2, 415-422 (2010), present a VCSEL structure based on a subwavelength high-contrast grating reflector consisting of amorphous silicon on isolator as the output mirror.

T. Stöferle et al., “Ultracompact Silicon/Polymer Laser with an Absorption-Insensitive Nanophotonic Resonator”, Nano Letters 10, 3675-3678 (2010), for which supporting online material is available, present a planar nanophotonic resonator and a high-contrast grating mirror made from dielectric material as a subwavelength phase grating employed as an in-plane reflector in a laser cavity.

C. J. Chang-Hasnain and W. Yang, “High-contrast gratings for integrated optoelectronics”, Advances in Optics and Photonics 4, 379-440 (2012), give an overview of high-contrast gratings and the underlying physical principles.

Light absorption in the metal lines of a wire grid polarizer may reduce the responsivity of the sensor that is provided with the wire grid polarizer. The effect of the wire grid depends on the angle of incidence, owing to the height of the metal lines, and the angular polarization dependency may be relatively large resulting in tight tolerances. Furthermore, the extinction ratio of a state of polarization that is not to be detected is limited by the extinction coefficient of the metal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The photodetector device comprises a substrate of semiconductor material, a sensor region in the substrate for the detection of electromagnetic radiation, a plurality of grid elements arranged at a distance from one another above the sensor region, the grid elements having a refractive index, a region of lower refractive index, the grid elements being arranged on the region of lower refractive index, and a further region of lower refractive index covering the grid elements. In particular, the grid elements can be arranged immediately on the region of lower refractive index.

In embodiments of the photodetector device, the grid elements comprise polysilicon, silicon nitride, hafnium dioxide, tantalum pent-oxide, silicon dioxide, niobium pentoxide, or any combination thereof.

In a further embodiment, the region of lower refractive index is a shallow trench isolation, buried oxide or field oxide region formed in the substrate, and the further region of lower refractive index comprises a dielectric layer.

In a further embodiment, the region of lower refractive index is a cover layer above the substrate, and the further region of lower refractive index comprises ambient air. In this embodiment the grid elements may comprise silicon nitride.

In a further embodiment, the refractive index of the grid elements is at least 0.5 larger than the refractive index of the region of lower refractive index.

In a further embodiment, the refractive index of the grid elements is at least 1.0 larger than the refractive index of the further region of lower refractive index.

The grid elements may have a constant width. For a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation to be detected, the sum of the width and the distance between adjacent grid elements may be smaller than the wavelength in the region of lower refractive index and/or in the further region of lower refractive index or even smaller than the wavelength in the grid elements. The sum of the width and the distance between adjacent grid elements may be larger than a quarter of the wavelength in the grid elements. The length of the grid elements, which is perpendicular to their width and parallel to the direction of their alignment, may be larger than the wavelength in the grid elements.

The following is a detailed description of examples and embodiments of the photodetector device in conjunction with the appended figures.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1is a cross section of a photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. The photodetector device comprises a substrate1of semiconductor material, which may be silicon, for instance. A photodetector or photodetector array suitable for detecting electromagnetic radiation, especially light within a specified range of wavelengths, is arranged in the substrate1. An integrated circuit for the operation of the photodetector or photodetector array may also be provided in the substrate1.

The photodetector or photodetector array may comprise any conventional photodetector structure and is therefore only schematically represented in the appended figures by a sensor region2in the substrate1. The sensor region2may extend continuously as a layer of the substrate1, or it may be divided into sections according to a photodetector array.

The substrate1may be doped for electric conductivity at least in a region adjacent to the sensor region2, and the sensor region2may be doped, either entirely or in separate sections, for the opposite type of electric conductivity. If the substrate1has p-type conductivity the sensor region2has n-type conductivity, and vice versa. Thus a pn-junction8or a plurality of pn-junctions8is formed at the boundary of the sensor region2and can be operated as a photodiode or array of photodiodes by applying a suitable voltage. This is only an example, and the photodetector or photodetector array may comprise different structures.

A contact region10or a plurality of contact regions10comprising an electric conductivity that is higher than the conductivity of the adjacent semiconductor material may be provided in the substrate1outside the sensor region2, especially by a higher doping concentration. A further contact region20or a plurality of further contact regions20comprising an electric conductivity that is higher than the conductivity of the sensor region2may be arranged in the substrate1contiguous to the sensor region2or a section of the sensor region2. An electric contact11can be applied on each contact region10and a further electric contact21can be applied on each further contact region20for external electric connections.

An isolation region3may be formed above the sensor region2. The isolation region3is transparent or at least partially transparent to the electromagnetic radiation that is to be detected and has a refractive index for the relevant wavelengths of interest. The isolation region3comprises a dielectric material like a field oxide, for instance. If the semiconductor material is silicon, the field oxide can be produced at the surface of the substrate1by local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS). As the volume of the material increases during oxidation, the field oxide protrudes from the plane of the substrate surface as shown inFIG. 1.

Grid elements4are arranged at a distance d from one another on the surface13of the isolation region3above the sensor region2. In particular, the grid elements4can be arranged immediately on the surface13of the isolation region3. The grid elements4may have the same width w, and the distance d may be the same between any two adjacent grid elements4. The sum of the width w and the distance d is the pitch p, which is a minimal period of the regular lattice formed by the grid elements4. The length1of the grid elements4, which is perpendicular to their width w, is indicated inFIG. 1for one of the grid elements4in a perspective view showing the hidden contours by broken lines.

The grid elements4are transparent or at least partially transparent to the electromagnetic radiation that is to be detected and have a refractive index for the relevant wavelengths. The grid elements4may comprise polysilicon, silicon nitride or niobium pentoxide, for instance. The use of polysilicon for the grid elements4has the advantage that the grid elements4can be formed in a CMOS process together with the formation of polysilicon electrodes or the like.

The refractive index of the isolation region3is lower than the refractive index of the grid elements4. The isolation region3is an example of the region of lower refractive index recited in the claims.

The grid elements4are covered by a further region of lower refractive index. In the photodetector device according toFIG. 1, the grid elements4are covered by a dielectric layer5comprising a refractive index that is lower than the refractive index of the grid elements4. The dielectric layer5may especially comprise borophosphosilicate glass (BPSG), for instance, or silicon dioxide, which is employed in a CMOS process to form intermetal dielectric layers of the wiring. The grid elements4are thus embedded in material of lower refractive index and form a high-contrast grating polarizer.

An antireflective coating7may be applied on the grid elements4. It may be formed by removing the dielectric layer5above the grid elements4, depositing a material that is suitable for the antireflective coating7, and filling the openings with the dielectric material of the dielectric layer5. The antireflective coating7may especially be provided to match the phase of the incident radiation to its propagation constant in the substrate1. In particular, if the substrate1comprises silicon, the refractive index of the antireflective coating7may be at least approximately the square root of the refractive index of silicon. Silicon nitride may be used for the antireflective coating7, for instance.

FIG. 2is a cross section of a further photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. Elements that correspond to similar elements shown inFIG. 1are designated with the same reference numerals. The photodetector device according toFIG. 2differs from the photodetector device according toFIG. 1in the isolation region3, which is formed as a shallow trench isolation (STI). If the semiconductor material is silicon, the material of the isolation region3may be silicon dioxide, for instance. The refractive index of the isolation region3is lower than the refractive index of the grid elements4. The isolation region3formed as a shallow trench isolation is a further example of the region of lower refractive index recited in the claims.

FIG. 3is a cross section of a further photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. Elements that correspond to similar elements shown inFIG. 1are designated with the same reference numerals. The photodetector device according toFIG. 3differs from the photodetector device according toFIG. 1in the formation of the grid elements4, which comprise partial layers4′,4″. The lower partial layer4′ may be formed by sections of a polysilicon layer, for instance. An intermediate layer17, which may comprise at least one oxide layer, for example, is optionally applied on the lower partial layer4′ before the upper partial layer4″ is formed. The upper partial layer4″ may be formed by sections of a further polysilicon layer, for instance.

FIG. 4is a cross section of a further photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. Elements that correspond to similar elements shown inFIG. 3are designated with the same reference numerals. The photodetector device according toFIG. 4differs from the photodetector device according toFIG. 3in the isolation region3, which is formed as a shallow trench isolation (STI) as in the photodetector device according toFIG. 2. If the semiconductor material is silicon, the material of the isolation region3may be silicon dioxide, for instance. InFIG. 4the grid elements4are shown without antireflective coating, by way of example.

FIG. 5is a cross section of a further photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. Elements that correspond to similar elements shown inFIG. 1are designated with the same reference numerals. The photodetector device according toFIG. 5differs from the photodetector device according toFIG. 1in the arrangement of the grid elements4. The dielectric layer5is an intermetal dielectric layer of a wiring or pad metallization, which comprises structured metallization layers. The contact11is connected to a metallization layer12, and the further contact21is connected to a further metallization layer22. A cover layer6, which may be a passivation, for instance, is applied on the dielectric layer5. In the photodetector device according toFIG. 5, the grid elements4are arranged on the surface16of the cover layer6. The grid elements4may instead be arranged immediately on the dielectric layer5. If the grid elements4comprise silicon nitride, their surface14may be exposed to ambient air15to yield a suitable high-contrast grating polarizer.

FIG. 6is a cross section of a further photodetector device with a high-contrast grating polarizer. Elements that correspond to similar elements shown inFIG. 5are designated with the same reference numerals. The photodetector device according toFIG. 6differs from the photodetector device according toFIG. 5in the isolation region3, which is formed as a shallow trench isolation (STI) as in the photodetector device according toFIG. 2. If the semiconductor material is silicon, the material of the isolation region3may be silicon dioxide, for instance.

The array of grid elements4forms a high-contrast grating, which is comparable to a resonator comprising a high quality-factor. For the vector component of the electric field vector that is parallel to the longitudinal extension of the grid elements4, i. e., perpendicular to the plane of the cross sections shown inFIGS. 1 to 6, the high-contrast grating constitutes a reflector. Owing to the difference between the refractive indices, the optical path length of an incident electromagnetic wave is different in the grid elements4and in the sections of the further region of lower refractive index5,15located between the grid elements4. Hence an incident electromagnetic wave reaches the surface13,16of the region of lower refractive index3,6, which forms the base of the high-contrast grating, with a phase shift between the portions that have passed a grid element4and the portions that have propagated between the grid elements4. The high-contrast grating can be designed to make the phase shift π or 180° for a specified wavelength, so that the portions in question cancel each other. The high-contrast grating thus constitutes a reflector for a specified wavelength and polarization.

When the vector component of the electric field vector is transverse to the longitudinal extension of the grid elements4, the electromagnetic wave passes the grid elements4essentially undisturbed and is absorbed within the substrate1underneath. Thus electron-hole pairs are generated in the semiconductor material. The charge carriers generated by the incident radiation produce an electric current, by which the radiation is detected. Optionally, a voltage is applied to the pn-junction8in the reverse direction.

The grid elements4may comprise a constant width w, and the distance d between adjacent grid elements4may also be constant, so that the high-contrast grating forms a regular lattice. The pitch p of such a grating, which defines a shortest period of the lattice, is the sum of the width w of one grid element4and the distance d. For the application of the array of grid elements4as a high-contrast grating polarizer, the pitch p is typically smaller than the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation in the material of the region of lower refractive index nlow1and/or in the further region of lower refractive index nlow2or even smaller than the wavelength in the grid elements4. In the region of lower refractive index nlow1the wavelength λ0in vacuum of the electromagnetic radiation to be detected becomes λ1=λ0/nlow1. In the further region of lower refractive index nlow2the wavelength becomes λ2=λ0/nlow2. If nhighis the refractive index of the grid elements4, the wavelength λ0becomes λ3=λ0/nhighin the grid elements4, λ3<λ0/nlow1, λ3<λ0/nlow2. This dimension denotes a difference between the high-contrast grating used as a polarizer in the photodetector device described above and a conventional diffraction grating.

The pitch p may be larger than a quarter wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation in the grid elements4. If the wavelength of the electromagnetic radiation to be detected is λ0in vacuum, p>λ3/4=λ0/(4nhigh). This distinguishes the high-contrast grating used as a polarizer in the photodetector device described above from deep-subwavelength gratings. The length1of the grid elements4is optionally larger than the wavelength λ3=λ0/nhighof the electromagnetic radiation in the grid elements4.

Therefore, the high-contrast grating based polarizer alleviates the draw-backs of tight fabrication tolerance and layer thickness control as for diffraction gratings; and the necessity of very small structures and thus very advanced lithograph as for deep sub-wavelength gratings.

The photodetector device with high-contrast grating polarizer can be used for a broad range of applications. Further advantages include an improved extinction coefficient for states of polarization that are to be excluded and an enhanced responsivity for the desired state of polarization.