Development of ultra-low noise, high sensitivity planar metal grating coupled AlGaAs/GaAs multiquantum well detectors for Focal Plane Array (FPA) staring IR sensor systems
Abstract
Since the beginning of this IR detector project, we have made significant progress toward achieving the original project goals. We have designed and fabricated two new types of IR detectors using step-bound-to-miniband (SBTM) and bound-to-miniband (BTM) transition multiple-quantum-well (MQW)/superlattice (SL) barrier structures grown by the molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique. The results showed that the dark current for the SBTM IR detector measured at 77 K was more than one order of magnitude lower than the conventional quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) (using bound-to-continuum band transition) reported in the literature. To optimize the grating couplers for the top and back illumination, we have designed and fabricated 10 new photomasks with various grating patterns and different grating periodicities to be used for the proposed study of light coupling efficiency versus grating periodicity in the large area MQW/SL IR detectors.
- Publication:
-
Quarterly Progress Report No. 1
- Pub Date:
- November 1991
- Bibcode:
- 1991fugv.rept.....L
- Keywords:
-
- Aluminum Gallium Arsenides;
- Arrays;
- Focal Plane Devices;
- Gratings (Spectra);
- Infrared Detectors;
- Semiconductors (Materials);
- Crystal Lattices;
- Efficiency;
- Light (Visible Radiation);
- Planar Structures;
- Solid-State Physics