A. V. Predein

HgCdTe Heterostructures on Si (310) Substrates for Midinfrared Focal Plane Arrays

Results of studies of the molecular beam epitaxial growth of HgCdTe alloys on Si substrates as large as 100 mm in diameter are presented. Optimum conditions for obtaining HgCdTe/Si(310) heterostructures of the device quality for the spectral range of 3–5 μm are determined. The results of measurements and discussion of photoelectric parameters of an infrared photodetector of a format of 320 × 256 elements with a step of 30 μm based on a hybrid assembly of a matrix photosensitive cell with a Si multiplexer are presented. A high stability of photodetector parameters to thermocycling from room temperature to liquid-nitrogen temperature is shown.

320×256 HgCdTe IR FPA with a built-in shortwave cut-off filter

A photovoltaic detector design based on the graded band gap HgCdTe MBE structure with high conductivity layer (HCL) at interface, which provides photodiodes series resistance and a shortwave cut.off filter is developed. The optimal HCL parameters giving high quantum efficiency and minimal noise equivalent temperature difference were determined by calculations and experimentally confirmed. The hybrid 320×256 IR FPA operating in 8–12 μm spectral range was fabricated. The threshold power responsivity and minimal noise equivalent temperature difference values at wavelength maximum were 1.02×10−7 W/cm2, 4.1×108 V/W and 27 mK, respectively.

High-performance 320 × 256 long-wavelength infrared photodetector arrays based on CdHgTe layers grown by molecular beam epitaxy

This paper gives the parameters of 320 × 256 element long-wavelength infrared photodetectors fabricated by a new improved technology based on heteroepitaxial mercury-cadmium-tellur structures. In these photodetectors, the variation of the photodiode bias voltage over the area of the array is minimized; inefficient photodiode regions related to both hybridization and spike-shaped growth defects of epitaxial films are eliminated; the current-voltage characteristics of the diodes in the resulting photodetectors are homogeneous and are limited by the diffusion current component up to −400 mV. The dark current is 0.25–0.45 nA, and R0A = (0.6–3) · 102 Ω · cm2. The voltage sensitivity, the threshold irradiance, and the average NETD at the maximum sensitivity are 11.8 · 108 V/W, 3.7 · 10−8 W/cm2, and 26.8 mK, respectively. The percentage of defective elements is 1.5%.

Effect of post-implantation annealing on the current-voltage characteristics of IR photodiodes based on p-HgCdTe

Current-voltage characteristics of IR photodiodes and distributions of charge carriers in n+-n−-p-structures based on vacancy p-doped Hg1 − xCdxTe films with x = 0.22 are examined. Three-dimensional numerical modeling of the distribution of charge carriers and current-voltage characteristics during photodiode annealing is performed. The calculations predict that large tunnel currents in diodes after implantation can result from an elevated (more than 1015 cm−3) concentration of donors in the n−-layer, which enhances tunneling by decreasing the thickness of the space charged region of the n-p-junction, and also from a small (less than 3 µm) depth of the p-n-junction.

Infrared focal plane assemblies based on HgCdTe/Si(310) heterostructure

It is demonstrated for the first time that high-performance scanning infrared (IR) focal plane assemblies of the 288 × 4 format for long-wavelength (8–12 μm) IR spectral range can be created based on a CdxHg1 − xTe/Si(310) heterostructure.

HgCdTe heterostructures on Si(310) substrates for infrared photodetectors

Molecular beam epitaxial growth of HgCdTe solid solutions on silicon substrates of 76.2 mm diameter was studied. Conditions for producing HgCdTe/Si(310) heterostructures for the spectral range of 3–5 µm which are suitable for fabricating high-quality devices were determined. A 4 × 288 photodetector was fabricated by hybrid assembly of an array photosensitive element with a multiplexer. Results on the sensitivity and stability of this photodetector to thermal cycling are given.

320×256 photodetector arrays with a built-in short-wavelength cutoff filter

This paper proposes a photodetector design based on a CdHgTe variband heteroepitaxial structure with a high-conductivity layer (HCL) that ensures that the photodiodes have low series resistance and simultaneously serves the function of a short-wavelength cutoff filter. Based on an analysis of how the parameters of the HCL affect the quantum efficiency and the noise-equivalent temperature difference of the photodetector arrays (PDAs), its optimum parameters are determined. Samples of PDAs are fabricated with a format of 320×256 elements for the 8-12-μm spectral range, based on hybrid assembly of photosensitive elements made from p-type (013) HgCdTe/CdTe/ZnTe/GaAs heteroepitaxial structures with an HCL and a silicon multiplexer. The voltage sensitivity, the threshold irradiance, and the noise-equivalent temperature difference at the maximum sensitivity were 4.1×108V/W, 1.02×10−7W/cm2, and 27mK, respectively.

Linear 288×4-format photodetector with a bidirectional time-delay-and-storage regime

Infrared n-p-photodiode photodetectors based on a hybrid assembly of photosensitive elements of format 288×4 with a 56×43-μm step, made from mercury-cadmium telluride heteroepitaxial structures obtained by molecular-beam epitaxy, have been developed, fabricated, and investigated for the 8–12-μm spectral range, along with silicon multiplexers with bidirectional scanning and internal time delay and storage of the signal. The 288×4-format linear photodetector has the following mean values of voltage sensitivity, detectivity, and NETD at the maximum sensitivity: (1–3)×108V∕W, (1.5–2.0)×1011cmHz1∕2W−1, and 9mK, respectively. There are no defective channels.

Determination of the Bulk and Local Diffusion-Length Values of Charge Carriers in MCT Films and in the Absorber Layers of MCT-Based Photovoltaic IR FPA Detectors

In the present chapter, we describe two new photoelectric-measurement-based methods that can be used for characterization of the diffusion process of charge carriers either in mercury-cadmium-tellurium (MCT) films intended for fabrication of infrared focal plane array (IR FPA) detectors or in the absorber layers of ready MCTbased photovoltaic IR FPA detectors. First-type measurements are photocurrent measurements to be performed on special test structures involving round photodio‐ des provided with coaxial light-shielding cap metal contacts. Second-type measure‐ ments are spot-scan measurements of MCT photovoltaic 2D IR FPA detectors traditionally used for measuring the crosstalk value of such detectors yet implement‐ ed at low and high levels of registered diode photocurrents. Both methods permit the determination of the bulk diffusion length of minority charge carriers in MCT material. The second method, in addition, permits the determination of the local effective diffusion length of minority charge carriers in the absorber-layer region under FPA diodes. The values of the bulk diffusion length of minority carriers obtained in MCT films and in the MCT absorber material of the examined middlewave and long-wave IR FPA detectors were found to be in good agreement with previously reported relevant data. The estimated value of the local effective diffusion length of minority carriers in the film region under back-biased FPA diodes proved to be consistent with a theoretical estimate of this length.

Photoelectric characteristics of diodes in prototype photosensitive pixels for a monolithic array infrared photodetector

Test photodiodes in the form of mesa structures with different areas from 30 × 30 to 100 × 100 μm in size are fabricated based on a CdxHg1 − xTe/Si structure at x = 0.235, grown by molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE). The current-voltage characteristics of the diodes are measured in the dark and under background light conditions. The experimental results are compared with theoretical calculations. It is found that the dependence of the photodiode photocurrent and dark current on the mesa structure size appears in the mesa size ranges from 30 × 30 to 80 × 80 μm. The dark current decreases and the photocurrent increases with decreasing mesa size. The mechanisms affecting the behavior of current-voltage characteristics are discussed.