Radiation-defect mitigation in InAs/GaSb strained-layer superlattice infrared detectors

This Phase II SBIR project will advance the technical readiness level (TRL) of our Phase-I-demonstrated strategy for mitigating radiation damage in GaSb/InAs Type II Strained-Layer-Superlattice (SLS) long-wave infrared (LWIR) detectors. Our mitigation strategy will be optimized for detectors to be deployed in interceptor seeker systems that will be exposed to radiation in the near-Earth orbital environment. Optimization will be achieved by experiments on relevant hardware, using realistic operating and irradiation conditions, combined with investigations into the underlying physical phenomena. The mitigation treatment is purely electrical and will be applied in-situ, remotely, automatically, and in real-time. Mitigation will not increase eyes off target time for interceptor seeker imagers. Minority carrier diffusion length will be measured directly using Electron Beam Induced Current (EBIC) technique. Our mitigation treatment dramatically restores both photoresponse and minority carrier diffusion length. The final TRL resulting from the proposed Phase II will be at least 4, namely breadboard validation in a laboratory environment for proton-irradiated single-element detectors with ROIC-equivalent electronics. Approved for Public Release | 18-MDA-9522 (23 Feb 18)