Zhenhua Ye

Analysis of temperature dependence of dark current mechanisms for long-wavelength HgCdTe photovoltaic infrared detectors

Resistance-voltage curves of n-on-p Hg1−хCdxTe long-wavelength infrared photodiodes forming 128-element array are measured in the temperature range of 40–150 K. Experimentally obtained characteristics are fitted by the simultaneous-mode nonlinear fitting program. The dark current mechanisms induced by diffusion, generation recombination, trap-assisted tunneling, band-to-band tunneling, and series resistance effect are included in the physical model for R-V curve fitting. Six characteristic parameters as function of temperature are extracted from measured R-V curves. The characteristics of extracted current components at low temperatures indicate significant contributions from tunneling effects, which is the dominant leakage current mechanism for reverse bias greater than approximately 50 mV. The Hg-vacancy-induced acceptor trap tends to invert to donor type at higher temperature, typically larger than 120 K, while it can maintain stable at the temperature of 60–40 K. The stable temperature of ion-implanta...

A hybrid surface passivation on HgCdTe long wave infrared detector with in-situ CdTe deposition and high-density hydrogen plasma modification

A hybrid surface passivation, in-situ CdTe passivation and high-density hydrogen plasma modification, is used to improve the surface quality of typical n+-on-p HgCdTe long wave infrared photodiode detectors. Three types of surface-passivated pixels, conventional, in-situ CdTe, and hybrid surface passivation, are fabricated in one chip for better comparison. The maximum dynamic resistances of the hybrid-surface-passivation device are increased to 1∼2 times greater than that in the conventional surface passivation technique. Theoretical modeling shows that the hybrid passivation can significantly suppress the trap-assisted tunneling current. Shallow traps close to the Fermi level under reverse voltage, which are the main source of the trap-assisted tunneling current for conventional surface passivation processing, are reduced by the hybrid passivation treatment.

128 × 128 long-wavelength/mid-wavelength two-color HgCdTe infrared focal plane array detector with ultralow spectral cross talk

High temporal and spatial coherent simultaneous long-wavelength/mid-wavelength (LW/MW) two-color focal plane array (FPA) infrared detection is the cutting-edge technique for third-generation infrared remote sensing. In this Letter, HgCdTe LW/MW two-color infrared detectors were designed and fabricated. The top long-wavelength and bottom mid-wavelength infrared planar photodiodes were processed by selective B(+)-implantation after etching the long-wavelength epilayer into a curvature and exposing the mid-wavelength layers for the implantation of the n region of the MW photodiode by a micro-mesa array technique. A 128×128  MW/LW HgCdTe infrared FPA detector is fabricated photo-lithographically by simultaneous nonplanar B(+)-implantation of the LW and MW photodiodes, passivation and metallization of the sidewalls, mesa isolation, and flip-chip hybridization with a read-out integrated circuit. The inner mechanisms for suppressing the cross talk and improving photoresponse have been carried out by combining experimental work with numerical simulations.

Polarity inversion and coupling of laser beam induced current in As-doped long-wavelength HgCdTe infrared detector pixel arrays: Experiment and simulation

In this paper, experimental results of polarity inversion and coupling of laser beam induced current for As-doped long-wavelength HgCdTe pixel arrays grown on CdZnTe are reported. Models for the p-n junction transformation are proposed and demonstrated using numerical simulations. Simulation results are shown to be in agreement with the experimental results. It is found that the deep traps induced by ion implantation are very sensitive to temperature, resulting in a decrease of the quasi Fermi level in the implantation region in comparison to that in the Hg interstitials diffusion and As-doped regions. The Hg interstitial diffusion, As-doping amphoteric behavior, ion implantation damage traps, and the mixed conduction, are key factors for inducing the polarity reversion, coupling, and junction broadening at different temperatures. The results provide the near room-temperature HgCdTe photovoltaic detector with a reliable reference on the junction reversion and broadening around implanted regions, as well a...

Parameter determination from resistance-voltage curve for long-wavelength HgCdTe photodiode

A data-processing approach has been developed to obtain device parameters from resistance-voltage (R-V) curves measured on long-wavelength HgCdTe n-on-p photodiodes. The physical model used for R-V curve fitting includes the dark current mechanisms induced by diffusion, generation recombination, trap-assisted tunneling, and band-to-band tunneling. Moreover, the series resistance effect is also taken into account. Six parameters, which include the dopant density Nd in the n region, the ratio of mobility to lifetime of electrons μn∕τn in the p region, the effective lifetime τ0 in the depletion region, the relative energy position of trap level Et∕Eg and its density Nt in the depletion region, and the series resistance Rs, can be extracted from measured R-V curves. The fitting procedure has been presented in detail and the error ranges of the extracted parameters have been discussed. By fitting to the R-V characteristics of three long-wavelength devices with different Cd compositions, the applicability of ou...

Modulation of the two-photon absorption by electric fields in HgCdTe photodiode

We demonstrate the tunability of the two-photon absorption (TPA) coefficient by adjusting the electric field in a HgCdTe (MCT) photodiode with cutoff wavelength of 5.2μm. The TPA coefficient was measured by using a picosecond pulsed laser with wavelength of 7.92μm. An enhancement of the TPA coefficient occurs in the space charge region of the MCT pn junction, which can be attributed to the Franz–Keldysh effect induced by the built-in electric field. By applying a reverse bias to intensify the built-in field, the TPA coefficient is found to be further enhanced by a factor of 18.9. This electric field dependence of the TPA coefficient has been fairly interpreted by the pn junction model with the Franz–Keldysh effect included.

Improved performance of HgCdTe infrared detector focal plane arrays by modulating light field based on photonic crystal structure

An HgCdTe long-wavelength infrared focal plane array photodetector is proposed by modulating light distributions based on the photonic crystal. It is shown that a promising prospect of improving performance is better light harvest and dark current limitation. To optimize the photon field distributions of the HgCdTe-based photonic crystal structure, a numerical method is built by combining the finite-element modeling and the finite-difference time-domain simulation. The optical and electrical characteristics of designed HgCdTe mid-wavelength and long-wavelength photon-trapping infrared detector focal plane arrays are obtained numerically. The results indicate that the photon crystal structure, which is entirely compatible with the large infrared focal plane arrays, can significantly reduce the dark current without degrading the quantum efficiency compared to the regular mesa or planar structure.

Temperature dependence on photosensitive area extension in mercury cadmium telluride photodiodes using laser beam induced current

We report on the temperature-dependent extension of n -type inversion regions in mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) photodiodes at low temperatures (87 K) compared to inversion regions at room temperature (300 K). Laser-beam-induced-current (LBIC) measurement techniques are used to obtain the photosensitive area extensions of n -type inversion in HgCdTe photodiodes for typical n +-on- p HgCdTe photovoltaic IR detectors. The effect of temperature on the extension of n -type conversion region is investigated by considering the sign of the LBIC signal. Theoretical results show that the hole concentration decreases in multidoped HgCdTe due to the freeze-out effect as the temperature decreases. Consequently, hole concentration is much lower than electron concentration at 87 K. The n -type inversion region extension is shown to be caused with the p -to- n type conversion.

An improvement on short-wavelength photoresponse for a heterostructure HgCdTe two-color infrared detector

Integrated HgCdTe two-color infrared detector arrays were fabricated and their spectral photoresponses measured. The top mid-wavelength infrared planar photodiode was processed by selective B+ implantation and the bottom short-wavelength infrared P–N homojunction photodiode formed in situ during MBE growth by indium impurity doping. A preliminary 256 × 1 linear focal plane array of SWIR/MWIR HgCdTe was fabricated by mesa isolation, passivation and metallization. Detailed investigations on the inner mechanism of the short-wavelength narrow effect commonly associated with integrated HgCdTe two-color detectors have been carried out by combining experimental work with analytical analysis and numerical simulation. It is shown in this work that the short-wavelength narrow effect can be successfully alleviated by replacing the homostructure short-wavelength P–N junction with a heterostructure short-wavelength P–N junction which significantly improves the performance of the detector.

Passivation Effect of Atomic Layer Deposition of Al 2 O 3 Film on HgCdTe Infrared Detectors

The passivation effect of atomic layer deposition of (ALD) Al2O3 film on a HgCdTe infrared detector was investigated in this work. The passivation effect of Al2O3 film was evaluated by measuring the minority carrier lifetime, capacitance versus voltage (C–V) characteristics of metal–insulator–semiconductor devices, and resistance versus voltage (R–V) characteristics of variable-area photodiodes. The minority carrier lifetime, C–V characteristics, and R–V characteristics of HgCdTe devices passivated by ALD Al2O3 film was comparable to those of HgCdTe devices passivated by e-beam evaporation of ZnS/CdTe film. However, the baking stability of devices passivated by Al2O3 film is inferior to that of devices passivated by ZnS/CdTe film. In future work, by optimizing the ALD Al2O3 film growing process and annealing conditions, it may be feasible to achieve both excellent electrical properties and good baking stability.