Investigation of photoelectric and recombination characteristics of a CdHgTe optical mixer

An analysis is made of the heterodyne operation of a Cd_xHg_1–xTe (x=0.2) photoresistor detector. An allowance is made for the influence of the heterodyne power on the carrier lifetime in the case of the interband Auger recombination and recombination via Shockley-Read centers. It is found that the Auger recombination predominates at high heterodyne powers. It is shown that the pass band of the photodetector can be widened by increasing the heterodyne power. It is reported that the results of an experimental study of a Cd_xHg_1–x Te photoresistor detector are in good agreement with the calculations when the threshold sensitivity of the detector is limited by the thermal noise of the photoresistor.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 100–103, July, 1980.