Infrared Detectors

In this paper we report on the maturation of large diameter GaSb and InSb substrate production and the key aspects of product quality and process control that have enabled a level of standardization to be achieved that is on par with mass produced compound semiconductor materials such as GaAs and InP. The evolution of commercial production processes for the crystal growth, wafering and epitaxy-ready polishing of antimonide substrates will be discussed together with specific reference to the process tool sets and production methodologies that have transformed a niche material in to one that has set new standards for wafer level product quality, conformity and control. Results will be presented on the production of single crystal >/=6” ingots grown by a modified version of the Czochralski (LEC) technique. Crystal defect mapping will demonstrate that industry standard InSb (211) growth processes have been refined to consistently deliver ultralow dislocation density substrates. Statistical process control data will be presented for large format 5” epitaxy ready finishing processes and compared alongside in-house data for GaAs and InP. Various surface analytical tools are used to characterize 5” InSb and GaSb substrates and our method of providing a unique characterization ‘finger print’ with each substrate discussed. We conclude that improvements in InSb and GaSb product quality and consistency have been driven by the industry’s persistent need to improve device performance and yield. Whilst substrate size requirements in antimonide wafer production may have peaked, we will discuss how to moving to the next step in substrate diameters, 6”, is very attainable and within relatively short timescales too. © (2017) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This paper presents a novel thermopile chip in which the resonant cavity structure was fully utilized as an absorber by an optical design. The resonant cavity absorber structure was designed using Al as anthe bottom reflective metal layer, air as the intermediate dielectric layer, and SiO2/TiN/Si3N4 sandwich layers as the top absorption layer, while the bottom reflective metal (Al) was deposited on the cold junctions of the thermopile. The simulation and calculation results show that the thermopile chip with resonant cavity absorber structure not only has great infrared absorption in the wide infrared absorption range but also can effectively prevent the cold junctions from absorbing infrared radiation and inhibit the rise of temperature. As a result, the temperature difference between the hot junctions and the cold junctions is increased, and the responsivity of the thermopile chip is further improved. Moreover, the duty cycle of the thermopile chip is greatly improved due to the d...

Background and statement of the problem: Directed energy weapons (DEW) have drawn a great deal of attention during the past few years in the army laser weapon systems. Laser beams neither produces sound nor it deviates from the target. Moreover, laser can travel with light speed. Detection, recognition and tracking of targets under a wide range of atmospheric conditions is one of the major issues in this DEW system [1].

We report the spectral response characteristics of a dual–band infrared photodetector based on nBn photodiode configuration–with GaSb and InGaAsSb absorption layers and a ternary layer of AlGaSb that serves as unipolar barrier in between—which has independent access to both sides. The resulting structure has detection capability in the short-wavelength infrared ranges, cut-off wavelength of 1.6 μm (SWIR1; GaSb) and 2.65 μm (SWIR2; InGaAsSb) depending on the applied bias. The dual-band photodetector was evaluated by current–voltage (I–V) characteristics, spectral response, and detectivity (D*). The measured values of D* at 300 K were 2.3 × 10^12 cm·Hz1/2·W−1 (at 1.5 μm) and 2.1 × 10^11 cm·Hz1/2·W−1 (at 2.25 μm).