Increasing sensitivity and angle-of-view of mid-wave infrared detectors by integration with dielectric microspheres
Abstract
We observed up to 100 times enhancement of sensitivity of mid-wave infrared photodetectors in the 2–5 μm range by using photonic jets produced by sapphire, polystyrene, and soda-lime glass microspheres with diameters in the 90–300 μm range. By finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method for modeling, we gain insight into the role of the microspheres refractive index, size, and alignment with respect to the detector mesa. A combination of enhanced sensitivity with angle-of-view (AOV) up to 20° is demonstrated for individual photodetectors. It is proposed that integration with microspheres can be scaled up for large focal plane arrays, which should provide maximal light collection efficiencies with wide AOVs, a combination of properties highly attractive for imaging applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Jun 13, 2016
- Source ID
- 10.1063/1.4954190
Entities
People
- Augustine M. Urbas
- Farzaneh Abolmaali
- Gamini Ariyawansa
- Joshua M. Duran
- Kenneth W. Allen
- Nicholaos I. Limberopoulos
- Vasily N. Astratov
Organizations
- Air Force Research Laboratory
- Army Research Office
- National Science Foundation
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte