Negative luminescence of long-wavelength InAs/GaSb superlattice photodiodes

The electrically pumped emission behavior of binary type-II InAs/GaSb superlattice photodiodes has been studied in the spectral range between 8 µm and 13 µm. With a radiometric calibration of the experimental setup, the internal and external quantum efficiency has been determined in the temperature range between 80 K and 300 K for both, the negative and positive luminescence. The negative luminescence efficiency approaches values as high as 35% without antireflection coating. The temperature dependence of the internal quantum efficiency near zero-bias voltage allows for the determination of the electron-hole-electron Auger recombination coefficient of gamma(ind n) = 1 X 10(exp 24) cmb6 s(exp -1).