SiGeSnPb Semiconductor Fab for Room Temp Electro-Optic Infrared (IR) Sensors
Abstract
new and novel high temperature high quality IR focal-plane arrays on Si operating for SWIR and MWIR. This will be accomplished at th e University of Arkansas in collaboration with CRANE scientists and engineers, beginning with Phase 1 of a 3-phase project, to prepa re new SiGeSnPb semiconductor material integrated with device fabrication strategy. The outcome will have a significant impact on th e naval warfighters ability to see better at night and allow storing and sharing of images wirelessly with other warfighters at a d ifferent location, ship, or aircraft. The national impact is also significant since the country that leads in advanced semiconductor IR imaging technology will also lead in the race to market nearly all new game-changing military technologies, from ground to space warfare. The proposed technology, based on SiGeSnPb, is both CMOS compatible and low cost. This is in sharp contrast with todays IR imaging technology, which is dominated by III-V (InGaAs, type II superlattice) and II-VI (HgCdTe) focal plane arrays. For both I nGaAs and HgCdTe technologies, the sensor array and read out integrated circuit are manufactured separately and integrated through a chip level hybridization process, resulting in cost upward of $100,000 to $300,000. This high cost currently limits the applicatio n of high-resolution IR imaging to the individual warfighter, as well as cell phones, autonomous vehicles, and new applications. De spite such exciting possibilities, however, high quality SiGeSnPb material, does not currently exist anywhere. For thin film growth, the large lattice mismatch between SiGeSn and Si substrate results in a high threading dislocation density limiting the ultimate ma terial quality and the device performance. Phase 1 of the SiGeSnPb Research Fab will overcome this roadblock by building on recent b reakthroughs to (i)Develop a new chemical vapor deposition (CVD) approach for growth using aspect ratio trapping (ART) that will e nhance the quality SiGeSn material and hence the capability for infrared imaging. ART growth is a selective area growth technique (S AG), which can eliminate all defects from the substrate interface in o of SAG and defect crystallography to force defects to the oxide sidewall resulting in a perfect top film. For (111) <110> diamond cubic slip system, such as SiGeSn, this requires the aspect ratio of holes in the oxide to be greater than one; (ii) Enhance UA capa bility and role as a national Fab for SiGeSn semiconductors; (iii) Develop a new molecular beam epitaxy growth (MBE) technology that will allow growth of SiGeSnPb at low temperatures; (iv) Characterize SiGeSn samples that will demonstrate breakthroughs in both Sn content and high-quality SiGeSn material; (v) Acquire, install, and integrate equipment and processes for fabrication of SiGeSn infr ared devices; (vi) Model and evaluate the potential of SiGeSn as a focal-plane array digital imaging technology with low noise, size , and cost, while tolerating harsh environments; and (vii) Explore new SiGeSn infrared sensing for applications, such as LIDAR for a utonomous vehicles. A tandem goal of the Fab is to train the next generation of semiconductor scientists and engineers to lead progr ess on IR detector technology. Our plan is to give our students a broad but in-depth training that encompasses: (i) growth and chara cterization, (ii) investigating and modeling their properties, and (iii) demonstrating these materials as the new dominating IR dete earch as a method to expose students at all levels to a high need area of science and technology, and (c) engagement of underreprese nted students in research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 03, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112899
Entities
People
- Shuiqing Yu
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Arkansas System