State-of-the-Art Infrared Detector Technology (SPIE Press Monograph PM248)

Scientists, engineers, managers, and policy makers who are currently involved in the funding of infrared R&D and subsequent system design and manufacture are confronted with a choice between two competing materials technologies, HgCdTe and III-V alloys.

This book examines both the current and future performance of infrared focal plane arrays that use the various device architectures associated with these two materials technologies. All spectral bands from long wavelength (LWIR) through mid-wavelength (MWIR) to short wavelength (SWIR) are considered, ultimately with a view to achieving background and diffraction-limited system performance at room temperature for all wavelengths.

Introduction List of Acronyms

1 - Cooled Infrared Detector Architectures
1.1 Extrinsic Photoconductors
1.2 Intrinsic Photoconductors
1.3 Si Schottky Barrier Photodiodes
1.4 Metal-Insulator-Semiconductor (MIS) Photodiodes
1.5 Photodiodes
1.6 Barrier Layer Photoconductors
1.7 Bandgap-Engineered Devices
1.8 Electron Avalanche Photodiodes
1.9 PIN Photodiodes
1.10 Summary References

2 - Infrared Focal Plane Array Considerations
2.1 Modulation Transfer Function
2.2 Noise Equivalent Flux or Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference
2.3 Fast Adjustment of Tilt and Height
2.3 Collection Efficiency
2.4 Summary

3 - Dark Current Considerations
3.1 Minority Carrier Lifetime
3.2 Metallurgical Photodiode
3.3 Barrier Layer Photoconductor
3.4 Graded-Gap Heterojunction Photodiode
3.5 Summary References

4 - Noise Considerations
4.1 Experimenting with Collimation: Autocollimation
4.2 Systemic 1/f Noise
4.3 Isolated Defect 1/f Noise: Dislocations
4.4 Summary References

5 - Infrared Materials for Focal Plane Arrays
5.1 II-VI Alloys
5.2 III-V Alloys
5.3 IV-VI Alloys
5.4 Summary

6 - HgCdTe FPA Technologies
6.1 Photodiodes
6.2 Barrier Layer Photoconductors
Two-color nBn 6.3 Avalanche Gain HgCdTe FPAs
6.4 Type III Superlattice FPA Technologies
6.5 Summary References

7 - III-V Detectors
7.1 Photodiodes
7.2 III-V Barrier Layer Photoconductors
7.3 III-V P⁺/N/N Double-Layer Heterojunction Photodiode
7.4 Summary References

8 - A Technology Comparison
8.1 HOT MWIR FPAs
8.2 HOT LWIR FPAs
8.3 SWIR FPAs
8.4 A Technology Comparison: Conclusions References

9 - The Future of Infrared FPA Technology
9.1 MTF
9.2 NETD
9.3 Operability
9.4 Summary

Appendix A: Reverse-Biased Heterojunctions
Appendix B: Shockley–Read Bandgap States Index