HgCdTe APDS for time resolved space applications

Abstract

I. INTRODUCTIONHgCdTe APDs have opened a new horizon in photon starved applications due to their exceptional performance in terms of high linear gain, low excess noise and high quantum efficiency. Both focal plane arrays (FPAs) and large array single element using HgCdTe (MCT) APDs have been developed at CEA/Leti and Sofradir and high performance devices are at present available to detect without deterioration the spatial and/or temporal information in photon fluxes with a low number of photon in each spatio-temporal bin. The enhancement in performance that can be achieved with MCT has subsequently been demonstrated in a wide scope of applications such as astronomical observations, active imaging, deep space telecommunications, atmospheric LIDAR and mid-IR (MIR) time resolved photoluminescence measurements. Most of these applications can be used in space borne platforms.In the present communication we will focus on our recent development and tests of detectors for applications that only require the temporal information and can be addressed using single element MCT APDs, such as LIDAR and high data rate free-space optical communication. The use of MCT APD for these applications will be discussed in section II in perspective of how the gain, dark current and response time varies as a function of Cd composition and operating temperature. The discussion will be illustrated, in section III, by the performance obtained detector assemblies using large area high operating temperature (190 K) APDs, in which we typically obtain noise equivalent powers in the range of 25-80 fW/√Hz for bandwidth ranging from 20 to 200 MHz. In particular, we report results obtained on an APD detector that has been used by Laboratorie de Meterologie Dynamique (LMD) to perform DIAL-LIDAR measurements at 2 µm up to distance close to 10 km and discuss the performances that can be achieved using MCT APDs in free space optical telecommunications up to 10 Gbit/s data rates and/or at single photon detection limit.The results of first space reliability tests made on Leti HgCdTe APDs, in collaboration with CNES are presented in section IV. The space reliability test consisted of proton irradiation and endurance at T=-85 °C operation and with variable reverse bias. The conclusion and perspective for the use of HgCdTe APDs for space applications are finally presented in section V.

Satellite-based quantum information networks: use cases, architecture, and roadmap

“…There are two main families of semiconductor-based APDs: those made of silicon and those made of InGaAs (while APDs based on HgCdTe appear promising in several aspects, they are still at the development stage [68][69][70] ). Silicon detectors cover the visible range extended to the very NIR, i.e., 400-1000 nm.…”

Nanobob: a cubesat mission concept for quantum communication experiments in an uplink configuration

“…However, currently, neither of the available detector technologies in the 1550 nm region is attractive for use in a CubeSat: Both Indium-Gallium-Arsenide (IGA) APDs as well as detectors based on Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) technology require cooling to very low temperatures (< -80 °C). In addition, IGA APDs have a rather low photon detection efficiency (PDE) < 25%, whereas MCT SPDs are still in development and appear to be hampered by large DCR [35,36]. At the current state of technology, only Silicon-based Avalanche Photo Diodes (Si-APDs) in the 800 nm range are able to combine a sufficiently high PDE and low jitter with a low DCR.…”

Nanobob: a CubeSat mission concept for quantum communication experiments in an uplink configuration

“…However, currently, neither of the available detector technologies in the 1550 nm region is attractive for use in a CubeSat: Both Indium-Gallium-Arsenide (IGA) Avalanche Photo Diodes (APDs) and detectors based on Mercury-Cadmium-Telluride (MCT) technology require cooling to very low temperatures (<-80 • C). In addition, IGA APDs have a rather low photon detection efficiency (PDE) <25%, whereas MCT SPDs are still in development and appear to be hampered by large DCR [37,38]. At the current state of technology, only Silicon-based APDs in the 800-nm range are able to combine a sufficiently high PDE and low jitter with a low DCR.…”