Two-colour HgCdTe infrared detectors operating above 200 K

The performance of dual waveband HgCdTe photodiodes fabricated using metaloorganic chemical vapour deposition operated at high temperatures is presented. The effect of additional separating layer on the quantum efficiency and cross-talk of the photodiodes is analyzed. The photodiodes with cutoff wavelengths up to 6 μm, good R₀A product, and high quantum efficiency at 200 K have been demonstrated. The temperature dependence of the differential resistance is discussed. It is shown that the multilayer heterojunction P-n-N-n-P structure operating in a simultaneous mode has better performance than a structure operating in a sequential mode.     

中波HgCdTe双色红外探测器优化模拟计算

针对光伏型中波HgCdTe双色红外探测器作了优化模拟计算，器件采用典型n-p-p-p-n结构和同时工作模式，建立的二维模型考虑了辐射复合、俄歇复合和Shockley-Read-Hall(SRH)复合三种复合机理，以及深能级辅助隧穿和带间直接隧穿效应，载流子穿过阻挡层势垒的隧道效应采用传递矩阵法计算.分析了双色器件光谱响应随吸收区SRH复合少子(电子)寿命的变化关系，以及串音与阻挡层组分的关系.模拟结果显示，随吸收区少子寿命变短，量子效率迅速下降；为了使器件有较高的量子效率，HgCdTe材料的SRH复合电子寿命应该至少在10ns以上.随阻挡层组分增大，势垒增高，串音迅速减小，大约在阻挡层组分差为0.03时下降到光学串音决定的稳定值，得出了抑制电学串音，阻挡层组分差的临界值为0.03. 关键词： HgCdTe中波双色红外探测器 光谱响应 光谱串音 少子寿命     

Numerical analysis of long wavelength infrared HgCdTe photodiodes

We present a detailed investigation of the performance limiting factors of long and very long wavelength infrared (LWIR and VLWIR) p on n Hg_1−xCd_xTe detectors through numerical simulations at 77 K incorporating all considerable generation-recombination (G-R) mechanisms including trap assisted tunneling (TAT), Shockley-Read-Hall (SRH), Auger and radiative processes. The results identify the relative strengths of the dark current generation mechanisms by numerically extracting the contribution of each G-R mechanism to the detector characteristics with various cut-off wavelengths (λ_c) and practically achievable material parameters.The results show that the dominant sensitivity degrading trap level depends on the detector cut-off wavelength being ∼0.7E_g for LWIR HgCdTe sensors (λ_c = ∼10 μm) instead of 0.5E_g which is generally believed to be the most efficient R-G level. TAT related 1/f noise dominates the sensor noise even under small reverse bias voltages at a trap density as low as 1 × 10¹⁴ cm⁻³ for sensors with λ_c > 11 μm. Considering the fact that trap densities below this level are rarely reported for HgCdTe material, exceptionally trap-free material is required to achieve desirable imaging performance with these sensors. Simulation results show that Auger mechanism has twofold effect on the sensitivity of the sensor by increasing the dark current and decreasing the photo current of the detector.     

Competitive technologies of third generation infrared photon detectors

Hitherto, two families of multielement infrared (IR) detectors are used for principal military and civilian infrared applications; one is used for scanning systems (first generation) and the other is used for staring systems (second generation). Third generation systems are being developed nowadays. In the common understanding, third generation IR systems provide enhanced capabilities like larger number of pixels, higher frame rates, better thermal resolution as well as multicolour functionality and other on-chip functions. In the paper, issues associated with the development and exploitation of materials used in fabrication of third generation infrared photon detectors are discussed. In this class of detectors two main competitors, HgCdTe photodiodes and quantum well IR photoconductors (QWIPs) are considered. The performance figures of merit of state-of-the-art HgCdTe and QWIP focal plane arrays (FPAs) are similar because the main limitations come from the readout circuits. However, the metallurgical issues of the epitaxial layers such as uniformity and number of defected elements are the serious problems in the case of long wavelength infrared (LWIR) and very LWIR (VLWIR) HgCdTe FPAs. It is predicted that superlattice based InAs/GaInSb system grown on GaSb substrate seems to be an attractive to HgCdTe with good spatial uniformity and an ability to span cutoff wavelength from 3 to 25 μm.     

1 MeV电子辐照对短波Hg1-xCdxTe光伏探测器的影响

 研究了1 MeV电子辐照对短波Hg_1-xCd_xTe光伏探测器的影响。通过测试电子辐照前后光伏探测器的响应光谱、信号、噪声、暗电流等性能参数，分析了电子辐照对Hg_xCdxTe光伏器件的影响机制。实验结果发现：电子辐照后器件响应光谱在短波处有变窄的趋势，但响应峰值波长和截止波长基本无变化；随着辐照剂量的增加，通过p-n结的暗电流有所增加，光伏器件的探测率有减小的趋势。     

高重频CO_2激光损伤HgCdTe晶体的数值分析

针对CO2激光作用下HgCdTe晶体的损伤问题进行了数值分析。首先,建立了高重频CO2激光损伤Hg0.784Cd0.216Te晶体的三维热传导物理模型;然后,利用有限元方法计算了单脉冲和高重频CO2激光作用下,Hg0.784Cd0.216Te晶体的损伤阈值;最后,分析了激光重频以及辐照时间对晶体损伤阈值的影响。研究结果表明:单脉冲激光辐照下,晶体的损伤阈值为64.5 J/cm2;高重频(f>1 kHz)激光辐照下,激光重频的改变对晶体损伤阈值的影响较小,损伤阈值应由平均功率密度表征,且与辐照时间密切相关;辐照时间的增加,可以有效地减小晶体的损伤阈值,当激光辐照功率密度<1.95 kW/cm2时,不会发生晶体损伤。研究结果对高重频CO2激光在激光加工以及激光防护的应用方面具有指导意义。     

Molecular beam epitaxy growth of HgCdTe for high performance infrared photon detectors

Significant progresses have been made in the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) growth of HgCdTe for high performance infrared photon detectors with the aid of in situ and ex situ characterization techniques. Superlattice interfacial layers compensate in part for the influence of non-ideal CdZnTe substrates and hence improved the material quality as well as yield. They result in photoconductive carrier recombination lifetimes approaching theoretical limits set by the intrinsic radiative and Auger recombination mechanisms for 8–14 μm long-wavelength infrared HgCdTe. Very high composition and thickness uniformities have also been achieved. However, the Urbach tail energy, which is associated with structural disorder, was found to be non-uniform for both large wafer (up to 20 × 20 mm²) and very small area (down to 200 × 200 μm²). After several years of improvements in MBE HgCdTe growth techniques, substrates once again have become a bottleneck to further improvements.     

PV型HgCdTe线阵探测器对强光反常响应机制研究

采用多种波段内激光辐照带有电容反馈互导放大器(CTIA)读出电路的PV型线阵HgCdTe探测器,实验均发现,当激光功率密度增强到约10-2 W/cm2时,未辐照像素也存在响应,且其基底信号出现以前未曾发现的反常响应,即随功率密度的增加,未辐照像素基底信号的响应值先下降后上升,并且噪声增大。针对这一反常响应现象进行了深入研究,结果表明器件内部公共P级结构、电路共用Vref电压结构是导致这一反常响应的主要原因。     

Investigation of hillocks formation on (1 0 0) HgCdTe layers grown by MOCVD on GaAs epi-ready substrates

In this paper we present the recent progress in the growth of (1 0 0) HgCdTe epilayers using metal organic chemical vapour deposition on GaAs epi-ready substrates. Particular progress has been achieved in the reduction of macro-defects known as “hillocks”, revealed on the surface of HgCdTe epilayers with (1 0 0) crystallographic orientation. The large-scale defects can arise from such sources as poor substrate processing, dust and remnants from previous deposition, and non optimal parameters of nucleation and growth process. In our experiment, hillocks density was decreased to <10² cm⁻² by proper choice of the growth parameters.Obtained epilayers are suitable for device fabrication. So far, significant improvements has been obtained in photoconductors operated at near-room temperatures. Devices fabricated from (1 0 0) HgCdTe have about one order of magnitude higher voltage responsivity than their (1 1 1) B counterparts.     

Magnetoconductivity tensor analysis of anomalous transport effects in neutron irradiated HgCdTe epilayers

Hg_1−xCd_xTe(x0.22) samples grown by LPE on CdZnTe(111B)-oriented substrates were exposed to various doses of thermal neutrons (1.0×10¹⁶−1.7×10¹⁶ n/cm²) and subsequently annealed for 24 h in Hg overpressure to remove damage and reduce the presence of Hg vacancies. Extensive magnetotransport measurements were performed on these samples as part of an investigation into the use of elemental transmutation for efficient p-type doping of this material. The data were analyzed using a multi-carrier approach which incorporates various scattering mechanisms and the presence of two conduction channels of differing alloy content to describe the changes in the transport properties due to neutron irradiation.     

光伏型碲镉汞探测器在波段内连续激光辐照下的两种不同过饱和现象的产生机理

利用连续波段内激光对两批光伏型碲镉汞探测器进行了激光辐照实验, 发现了两种不同的过饱和现象. 实验表明, 光伏型碲镉汞探测器在强光辐照下都会出现开路电压随光强增强而减小的过饱和现象, 明晰了PV型探测器在强光辐照下的一般规律性现象和由探测器个体差异导致的特殊现象. 从等效电路模型出发, 剖析了两种过饱和现象的发生条件, 建立了数值计算的理论模型, 对两种过饱和现象进行了数值模拟, 计算结果与实验结果符合得较好. 研究表明, 光伏型碲镉汞探测器在波段内强光辐照下引起的过饱和现象有两种产生机理, 一种是热效应引起的暗电流增大机理; 另一种是探测器材料中缺陷引起的漏电流增大机理. 关键词： 波段内连续激光 光伏型碲镉汞探测器 过饱和现象     

Exploring novel methods to achieve sensitivity limits for high operating temperature infrared detectors

A review of high operating temperature (HOT) infrared (IR) photon detector technology vis-a-vis material requirements, device design and state of the art achieved is presented in this article. The HOT photon detector concept offers the promise of operation at temperatures above 120 K to near room temperature. Advantages are reduction in system size, weight, cost and increase in system reliability. A theoretical study of the thermal generation–recombination (g–r) processes such as Auger and defect related Shockley Read Hall (SRH) recombination responsible for increasing dark current in HgCdTe detectors is presented. Results of theoretical analysis are used to evaluate performance of long wavelength (LW) and mid wavelength (MW) IR detectors at high operating temperatures.     

Infrared negative luminescent devices and higher operating temperature detectors

Infrared LEDs and negative luminescent devices, where less light is emitted than in equilibrium, have been attracting an increasing amount of interest recently. They have a variety of applications, including as a ‘source’ of IR radiation for gas sensing; radiation shielding for, and non-uniformity correction of, high sensitivity staring infrared detectors; and dynamic infrared scene projection. Similarly, infrared (IR) detectors are used in arrays for thermal imaging and, discretely, in applications such as gas sensing. Multi-layer heterostructure epitaxy enables the growth of both types of device using designs in which the electronic processes can be precisely controlled and techniques such as carrier exclusion and extraction can be implemented. This enables detectors to be made which offer good performance at higher than normal operating temperatures, and efficient negative luminescent devices to be made which simulate a range of effective temperatures whilst operating uncooled. In both cases, however, additional performance benefits can be achieved by integrating optical concentrators around the diodes to reduce the volume of semiconductor material, and so minimise the thermally activated generation-recombination processes which compete with radiative mechanisms. The integrated concentrators are in the form of Winston cones, which can be formed using an iterative dry etch process involving methane/hydrogen and oxygen. We present results on negative luminescence in the mid- and long-IR wavebands, from devices made from indium antimonide and mercury cadmium telluride, where the aim is sizes greater than 1 cm×1 cm. We also discuss progress on, and the potential for, operating temperature and/or sensitivity improvement of detectors, where very high-performance imaging is anticipated from systems which require no mechanical cooling.     

Application of CR-39 track detectors for corpuscular diagnostics of high-temperature plasmas

Solid State Nuclear Track Detectors (SSNTDs) have been used for corpuscular diagnostic in numerous high-temperature plasma experiments. This paper presents different applications of the detectors mentioned above, particularly in nuclear fusion investigations. Some new projects and proposals of the use of such detectors in large-scale plasma experiments, e.g. tokamaks, and laser-fusion facilities are demonstrated. To use the SSNTDs in the optimal way and to determine their detection characteristics, detailed calibration studies of the selected plastic detectors (CR-39, PM-355, PM-500, PM-600) have been performed at IPJ for several years. To carry out calibration measurements of these detectors, ion beams from different accelerators were applied. The paper presents detection characteristics, i.e. track dimensions as a function of ion energy, atomic number and etching time.     

Principal component analysis of non-uniformity in electrical characteristics of HgCdTe photodiode arrays

We present a method of analyzing the non-uniformity in electrical characteristics of HgCdTe photodiode arrays for infrared imaging applications. We have selected dynamic resistance–voltage (R–V) characteristics for analyzing electrical behavior of HgCdTe photodiodes because the dynamic resistance at a given operating voltage directly governs the imager performance and being derivative of current–voltage (I–V) characteristics, it has little impact of the constant shifts due to stray illumination during dark measurements, relaxing the stringent requirement of perfect dark conditions to some extent for performance analysis. We have demonstrated that by using statistical analysis such as correlation of the selected signatures and their principal component analysis, we can identify the root cause of the high non-uniformity among sensor pixels in the array. The method has been implemented using theoretical I–V model of MWIR HgCdTe photodiodes, but it is generic and may be implemented on any other types of diode arrays for theoretical or experimental analysis of their non-uniformity.     

Uranium analysis by neutron induced fissionography method using solid state nuclear track detectors

In this study total twenty samples (eight reference materials and twelve sediment samples) were analysed for their uranium content which is in the range of 1–17 μg/g, by neutron induced fissionography (NIF) method using solid state nuclear track detectors (SSNTDs) in comparison with the results of neutron activation analysis (NAA), delayed neutron counting (DNC) technique or fluorometric method. It is found that NIF method using SSNTDs is very sensitive for analysis of uranium.     

HgCdTe反型层的磁输运性质

利用成本低廉的液相外延技术, 成功制备了具有金属-绝缘体-半导体结构的HgCdTe场效应管器件. 在该器件中, 观察到清晰的Shubnikov-de Hass振荡和量子霍尔平台, 证明样品具有较高的质量. 测量零场附近的磁阻曲线, 在HgCdTe-基器件中观察到反弱局域效应, 表明样品中存在较强的自旋-轨道耦合作用. 利用Iordanskii-Lyanda-Pikus理论, 很好地拟合了反弱局域曲线. 由拟合得到的自旋分裂能随电子浓度的增大而增大, 最大达到9.06 meV. 根据自旋分裂能得到的自旋-轨道耦合系数同样随电子浓度的增大而增大, 与沟道较宽的量子阱中所得到的结果相反.     

Comprehensive analysis of binary events in heavy ion reactions observed with dielectric track detectors

The dielectric track detectors are very efficient in registering the main fragments of a heavy ion reaction in the presence of lightly ionizing products and γ-radiations because of their threshold nature of registration and wide-angle acceptance. The binary events, revealed after chemical etching of these detectors, appear as the events having two correlated prongs in the body of the detector. The measurements of the geometrical parameters of these prongs provide the necessary data for subsequent kinematical analysis. We have made a thorough analysis of the two-pronged events in order to understand the physical mechanism of their production, using the track data from the reactions,     

Recent infrared detector technologies,applications, trends and development of HgCdTe based cooled infrared focal plane arrays and their characterization

Infrared thermal imaging, using cooled and uncooled detectors, is continuously gaining attention because of its wide military and civilian applications. Futuristic requirements of high temperature operation, multispectral imaging, lower cost, higher resolution (using pixels) etc. are driving continuous developments in the field. Although there are good reviews in the literature by Rogalski [1–4], Martyniuk et al. [5] and Rogalski et al. [6] on various types of infrared detectors and technologies, this paper focuses on some of the important recent trends and diverse applications in this field and discusses some important fundamentals of these detectors.     

光导型HgCdTe光电探测器对双波段组合激光辐照动态响应的数值模拟

采用数值方法,考虑波段内激光的本征载流子带间跃迁吸收和波段外激光的自由载流子带内跃迁吸收的光吸收机制,以及器件温升对载流子寿命、浓度、迁移率和光吸收系数等材料参数的影响,通过求解粒子数平衡方程和热传导方程的联立方程组,研究了PC型HgCdTe光电探测器在波段内和波段外双光束组合激光辐照下的动态响应过程.计算结果证实了探测器对波段内和波段外激光的电压响应方向相反;结果显示探测器对波段外激光的反向电压响应随波段外激光功率升高迅速增大,线性区间的波段内背景光辐照使波段外光响应迅速增大,随波段内激光使探测器趋于饱和,波段外光响应逐渐减小.