Demonstration of novel quantum well gate controlled photodetector switch

A novel three-terminal quantum well gated photodetector (QWGPD) switch, based on a non-selfaligned field effect transistor (FET), is proposed and demonstrated. The QWGPD switch is shown to have two modes of operation. In the optical mode, the responsivity is controlled by the gate and a high responsivity of 244 A/W has been achieved. In the electronic mode, the QWGPD behaves like a conventional FET, with high peak transconductance, and is insensitive to light.