Uncooled Infrared Detectors Based on Carbon Nanotubes, BMDO/ 02-003E

"Emitech, Inc. proposes an innovative approach aimed at the development of carbon nanotube infrared detectors capable of operating at room temperatures in the wavelength range of 1.5-14 mm. This new concept is based on the effect of reduced electron-phononcoupling in quasi one-dimensional carbon nanotubes (CNTs), which considerably suppress the thermal noise and enables higher detector operational temperatures.Semiconducting CNTs are known to exhibit the inverse proportional dependence of band gap on the nanotube diameter. Thus, the variation of the CNT diameter allows to control the detector operation range.The ability to move the position of CNT Fermi level through varying the voltage applied to the gate electrode (field effect) gives us an opportunity to control the dark photocurrent through the pinning of Fermi level to the CNT charge neutrality point. Photodetectors based on CNTs are anticipated to gain an advantage over commonly used at room temperature ternary and multinary II-VI group compound semiconductors follows:Enhanced chemical stability; Simple and robust fabrication technique; Suppressed thermal noise; Improved spatial resolution approaching the fundamental limit; Ability to simply control the detector operation range and signal level.The current multi-billion dollar market for the IR detectors stands up for their numerous applications in military and consumer electronics, medicine, and space industry. The advanced fe