Manufacturing for High Yield and Reliability of HgCdTe IR Detectors

HgCdTe is without a doubt the most dominant material for infrared (IR) detection. Particularly at wavelengths of importance to the MDA program, the reliable operation of these detectors is paramount. MBI in this proposal, will apply its technology in material processing by microwaves to synthesize ohmic contacts on long-wavelength HgCdTe detectors. The formation of ohmic-contacts on HgCdTe and their long-term stability contributes a great deal to the responsivity, reliability, yield and hence to the cost of these delicate detectors. The mal-formation of ohmic-contacts on HgCdTe detectors is unique in that it can be a source of operational problems affecting the device performance due to optical, electrical, or thermo-mechanical origins. Addressing and solving this problem alone has a compounding beneficial effect on LW and VLW HgCdTe detectors from device detectivity (D), reliability, yield, and cost point of view. MBI offers a two-part approach to the formation of ohmic-contact on HgCdTe detectors, a) a novel processing method with many distinct advantages, and b) a set of new metallizations made possible by the processing technology. This project has wider implications in the HgCdTe-IR device manufacturing with prospects of replacing current long-duration annealing with a fast less costly process and equipment