In0.53Ga0.47As photodiodes with dark current limited by generation-recombination and tunneling

We report on low-dark-current IN0.53GA0.47As photodiodes in which generation-recombination current dominates diode leakage up to as high as 100 V. At higher voltages, tunneling currents become dominant, resulting in the soft breakdown characteristic widely observed in these materials. The dark current versus voltage characteristics have been fit to variations in current of over six orders of magnitude and a temperature range greater than 150 K using a theory which includes generation-recombination, tunneling, and shunt components.