Preparation and Properties of Mercury-Doped Germanium

Borrello, S.R.; Levinstein, H. J.

doi:10.1063/1.1728540

Cited by 37 publications

(4 citation statements)

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“…where F is the optics f -number, f is the frequency band, A d is the detector area, t op is the optics transmission and M is the spectral emittance of the blackbody described by the Planck's law. As equation (46) shows, the thermal resolution improves with an increase in detector area. Increasing detector area results in reduced spatial resolution, however.…”

Section: Hgcdte Versus Thermal Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Since 1954, the Cu-doped extrinsic photoconductive detector was known [45], but its spectral response extended to 30 µm (far longer than required for the 8-12 µm window) and to achieve background-limited performance the Ge : Cu detector was necessary to cool down to liquid helium temperature. In 1962, it was discovered that the Hg acceptor level in Ge has an activation energy of about 0.1 eV [46] and detector arrays were soon made from this material; however, the Ge : Hg detectors were cooled to 30 K to achieve maximum sensitivity. It was also clear from theory that intrinsic HgCdTe detectors (where the optical transitions were direct transitions between the valence band and the conduction band) could achieve the same sensitivity at much higher operating temperature (as high as 77 K).…”

Section: Historical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

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HgCdTe infrared detector material: history, status and outlook

2005

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This article reviews the history, the present status and possible future developments of HgCdTe ternary alloy for infrared (IR) detector applications. HgCdTe IR detectors have been intensively developed since the first synthesis of this material in 1958. This article summarizes the fundamental properties of this versatile narrow gap semiconductor, and relates the material properties to its successful applications as an IR photoconductive and photovoltaic detector material. An emphasis is put on key developments in the crystal growth and their influence on device evolution. Competitive technologies to HgCdTe ternary alloy are also presented.Recent advances of backside illuminated HgCdTe heterojunction photodiodes have enabled a third generation of multispectral instruments for remote sensing applications and have led to the practicality of multiband IR focal plane array technology. Finally, evaluation of HgCdTe for room temperature long wavelength IR applications is presented.

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Section: Hgcdte Versus Thermal Detectorsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Historical Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

HgCdTe infrared detector material: history, status and outlook

2005

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“…The discovery in the early 1960s of extrinsic Hg−doped germanium [51] led to the first forward looking infrared (FLIR) systems operating in the LWIR spectral window using linear arrays. Ge:Hg with a 0.09−eV activation energy was a good match to the LWIR spectral window, however, since the detection mechanism was based on an extrinsic excitation, it required a two−stage cooler to operate at 25 K. The first real production FLIR program based upon Ge:Hg was built for the Air Force B52 Aircraft in 1969 [10].…”

Section: Post-war Activitymentioning

confidence: 99%

History of infrared detectors

Rogalski

2012

Opto-Electronics Review

428

207

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This paper overviews the history of infrared detector materials starting with Herschel’s experiment with thermometer on February 11th, 1800. Infrared detectors are in general used to detect, image, and measure patterns of the thermal heat radiation which all objects emit. At the beginning, their development was connected with thermal detectors, such as thermocouples and bolometers, which are still used today and which are generally sensitive to all infrared wavelengths and operate at room temperature. The second kind of detectors, called the photon detectors, was mainly developed during the 20th Century to improve sensitivity and response time. These detectors have been extensively developed since the 1940’s. Lead sulphide (PbS) was the first practical IR detector with sensitivity to infrared wavelengths up to ∼3 μm. After World War II infrared detector technology development was and continues to be primarily driven by military applications. Discovery of variable band gap HgCdTe ternary alloy by Lawson and co-workers in 1959 opened a new area in IR detector technology and has provided an unprecedented degree of freedom in infrared detector design. Many of these advances were transferred to IR astronomy from Departments of Defence research. Later on civilian applications of infrared technology are frequently called “dual-use technology applications.” One should point out the growing utilisation of IR technologies in the civilian sphere based on the use of new materials and technologies, as well as the noticeable price decrease in these high cost technologies. In the last four decades different types of detectors are combined with electronic readouts to make detector focal plane arrays (FPAs). Development in FPA technology has revolutionized infrared imaging. Progress in integrated circuit design and fabrication techniques has resulted in continued rapid growth in the size and performance of these solid state arrays.

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“…Seb Borrello 15 measured the activation energy of mercury-doped germanium and found it to be suitable. But because all of Henry's work was funded by the air force, they were also concerned with practical applications, and 8-14 lm was certainly one of them.…”

Section: Interviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interview with Paul W. Kruse on the Early History of HgCdTe, Conducted on October 22, 1980

Reine

2015

Journal of Elec Materi

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This paper presents an interview with Dr Paul W. Kruse (1927-2012) on the early history of the semiconductor alloy mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe or Hg 1Àx Cd x Te) at the Honeywell Corporate Research Center near Minneapolis, Minnesota. Conducted on October 22, 1980, the interview covers two main areas. One area is the story of how the HgCdTe research effort came about at the Honeywell Research Center in the early 1960s, what technical choices were made and when, and what technical challenges were overcome and how. The other area is the organization, culture, environment and personnel at the Honeywell Research Center that made the early HgCdTe research programs so successful. HgCdTe has emerged as the highest-performance, most widely applicable infrared detector material. HgCdTe continues to satisfy a broad variety of advanced military and space applications. It is illustrative to look back on the early history of this remarkable semiconductor alloy to help to understand why its technological development as an infrared detector has been so successful.

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Preparation and Properties of Mercury-Doped Germanium

Cited by 37 publications

References 4 publications

HgCdTe infrared detector material: history, status and outlook

HgCdTe infrared detector material: history, status and outlook

History of infrared detectors

Interview with Paul W. Kruse on the Early History of HgCdTe, Conducted on October 22, 1980

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