Quantum mechanics

Detector

Cardinal point

Materials science

Infrared

Superlattice

Operating temperature

Wavelength

Focal Plane Arrays

Thermodynamics

Physics

Quantum efficiency

Optics

Cutoff frequency

Dark current

Cutoff

Optoelectronics

Infrared detector

Applied Physics Letters

We analyze and compare different aspects of InAs/InAsSb and InAs/GaSb type-II superlattices for infrared detector applications and argue that the former is the most effective when implemented for mid-wavelength infrared detectors. We then report results on an InAs/InAsSb superlattice based mid-wavelength high operating temperature barrier infrared detector. At 150 K, the 50% cutoff wavelength is 5.37 μm, the quantum efficiency at 4.5 μm is ∼52% without anti-reflection coating, the dark current density under −0.2 V bias is 4.5 × 10−5 A/cm2, and the dark-current-limited and the f/2 black-body (300 K background in 3–5 μm band) specific detectivities are 4.6 × 1011 and 3.0 × 1011 cm-Hz1/2/W, respectively. A focal plane array made from the same material exhibits a mean noise equivalent differential temperature of 18.7 mK at 160 K operating temperature with an f/2 optics and a 300 K background, demonstrating significantly higher operating temperature than InSb.

Mid-wavelength high operating temperature barrier infrared detector and focal plane array