Type-II InAs/GaSb Superlattice Detectors and Focal Plane Arrays in the Very-Long Wavelength Infrared Range

Photon detectors presently available in the very long wave infrared range (lambda > 15 micron) are based on HgCdTe and extrinsic silicon technologies. The former technology suffers from non-uniformity, which is unacceptable for focal plane arrays, whilethe later suffers from an excessive dark current, which requires lowering the operating temperature of these detectors below 20K. At present, the most promising alternative is III-V compound semiconductor superlattices based on arsenides and antimonides,such as type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices.This Phase II project plans to capitalize on the material quality improvement techniques demonstrated in the Phase I work in order to minimize the density of defects the type-II InAs/GaSb superlattices. Very long wavelength infrared photodetector devicesbased on these materials will be grown, fabricated and tested in order to validate the technical and commercial viability of the proposed approach.