High-performance LWIR superlattice detectors and FPA based on CBIRD design

Abstract

We report our recent efforts on advancing of antimonide superlattice based infrared photodetectors and demonstration of Focal Plane Arrays (FPA) based on a complementary barrier infrared detector (CBIRD) design. By optimizing design and growth condition we succeeded to reduce the operational bias of CBIRD single pixel detector without increase of dark current or degradation of quantum efficiency. We demonstrated a 1024×1024 pixel longwavelength infrared focal plane array utilizing CBIRD design. An 11.5 μm cutoff FPA without anti-reflection coating has yielded noise equivalent differential temperature of 53 mK at operating temperature of 80 K, with 300 K background and cold-stop. In addition, we demonstrated 320×256 format FPA based on the n-CBIRD design. The resulting FPAs yielded noise equivalent differential temperature of 26 mK at operating temperature of 80 K, with 300 K background and cold-stop. These results advance state-of-the art of superlattice detectors and demonstrated advantages of CBIRD architecture for realization of FPA.