Ultra-Low Dark Current HgCdTe Detector in SWIR for Space Applications

HgCdTe detectors for space and science imaging in France: general issues and latest achievements

“…Measurements showed no major difference in the dark or photonic current mappings: the two arrays performances were very close at 100K. Deeper analysis of the results and characterization of those two last layers are presented in a dedicated paper [ 8 ]. Very low dark current values were limited by Si glow below 1e/s, either from the ROIC or from the temperature probes used in the characterization bench.…”

“…During the last phase of the project, evidence of ROIC glow from the eight output amplifiers are clearly seen on current mapping measured at darkness (Figure 3). A numerical subtraction allows us an estimation of the intrinsic limitation of the photodiodes once again below 0.1 e/s at 100K compatible with the required specifications (light blue and brown down triangles in Figure 1, see [ 8 ] for further details). The next phase of this activity will be to demonstrate the fabrication of larger arrays.…”

Design Principles for High QE HgCdTe Infrared Photodetectors for eSWIR Applications

“…Over the past decade, there has been increasing interest in shortwave infrared (SWIR) sensing and imaging in the 1.5-2.0-µm spectral band, an interest that is driven by many emerging applications in defence, space, science and industry. [1][2][3][4][5] These applications have motivated a surge in competing research efforts focused on developing high-performance strained InGaAs-based photodetectors and high-performance HgCdTe IR sensors with cut-off wavelengths up to 2.7 µm, with particular emphasis on ultra-high quantum efficiency(QE). 1,[6][7][8][9] This demand has been further increased by requirements in both defence and space application due to the unique properties of SWIR atmospheric window.…”

“…1,[6][7][8][9] This demand has been further increased by requirements in both defence and space application due to the unique properties of SWIR atmospheric window. 3,10 The particular interest in high-performance detectors in the extended-SWIR (eSWIR) window of the 2.0-2.7-μm wavelength band is driven by emerging applications in optical communication, long-range LIDAR, and interferometric systems based on squeezed light. These demanding applications have been made possible by recent advances in the availability of high-power rare-earth fibre lasers in this wavelength band that are eye-safe and that have favourable low-loss atmospheric transmission conditions at these wavelengths.…”

“…23 There have been several studies in the past few years on both theoretical and experimental aspects of SWIR infrared photodetectors based on the HgCdTe alloy employing p-onn device structure. 3,10,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31] However, since these detectors were designed to be used as individual small-area pixels in an imaging array, they were not designed for ultra-high QE application. In this paper, we present the design rules which allow SWIR photodetectors operating in the eSWIR spectral range to achieve their maximum quantum efficiency.…”