Picosecond time-resolved photoluminescence at detection wavelengths greater than 1500 nm

We report what is to our knowledge the first application of high-efficiency InGaAs/InP photon-counting diode detectors in time-resolved photoluminescence measurements at wavelength greater than 1500 nm. When they were cooled to 77 K and used in conjunction with the time-correlated single-photon counting technique, the detectors were capable of an instrumental response of 230 ps and a noise equivalent power of 2 x 10(-17) W Hz(-1/2). Preliminary measurement of a semiconductor heterostructure indicates sensitivity at photogenerated carrier densities as low as 10(14) cm(-3). This development facilitates the detailed characterization of dominant recombination mechanisms in semiconductor optoelectronic materials and devices designed to operate in the third telecommunications spectral window. (C) 2001 Optical Society of America.