The Basic Science Underlying CdMgTe Passivation Of SWIR HgCdTe
Abstract
We propose fundamental research to examine the effects of passivation approach on Hg1-xCdxTe (MCT) materials for short-wave infrared (SWIR) detectors. SWIR is important to the DoD for developing optical sensors due to advantageous atmospheric transmission windows and the ability to penetrate obscurants that disrupt optical imaging. Capable SWIR sensors for wavelengths to ~ 1.7 μm are based on InGaAs, but extension to 2.5 μm detection is not feasible. By varying the CdTe mole fraction, MCT is viable for photonic applications spanning the 0.8 to 25 μm range with CdZnTe substrates available with exact lattice parameter match. However, surface or interface effects limit performance, particularly for MCT in the SWIR range, with a deleterious impact on potential use of these materials for detector development. We will extend our recent success in developing innovative passivation materials for solar cells based on CdTe, which suffers similar surface and interface issues. Using barrier layers of CdMgTe to form a Type I heterostructure with large conduction and valence band offsets resulted in drastic improvements by reducing surface/interface states to a level comparable to the best observed in III-V compound semiconductors.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 12, 2016
- Source ID
- W911NF11510339
Entities
People
- T. H. Myers
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Texas State University