The influence of dislocations on the electrical and photo-electric characteristics of HgCdTe has been widely discussed in
published literature. However, an unexplored aspect of the dislocations that has not yet attracted the attention of any of
the investigators, is the band gap narrowing/widening induced by the intense stress field around dislocation core.
Preliminary estimations show that the band gap narrowing due to the tensile region of the stress field along the
dislocations in HgCdTe is high enough to cause significant band gap narrowing in low band gap HgCdTe. An enhanced
Zener like band-to-band tunneling is proposed in the vicinity of dislocation cores. The calculations presented here
qualitatively explain the observed influence of dislocations on HgCdTe photodiode characteristics.
Hodgkin (SPIE 6207(2006)) extended NVThermIP to be applicable to cold weather conditions. We also
(IRPhys&Technol.51 (2008)520) later published an analysis of the effect of varying ambient temperature (Tamb) by
modifying the inputs to NVTherm2002, and by using spectrally-weighted atmospheric transmission calculated from
MODTRAN at different ambient temperatures and relative humidities (RH). We took into account the effects on the
integration time and NETD, and we now account for the variation of ▵T with varying Tamb, as Hodgkin has done. The
overall trends are similar, but we have NVTherm, not NVThermIP. We vary the parameters associated with Johnson's
criteria to obtain similar results. Note that diurnal, seasonal, climatic and microclimatic variations of relative humidity
(RH) significantly impact the performance of thermal imagers, especially LWIR ones. We compare the performance of
thermal imagers a horizontal mean-sea-level path in clear weather conditions for terrestrial imagers and ground
targets/scenes in both LWIR and MWIR bands, as a function of the ambient temperature from -40°C to +40°C and also
as a function of RH (30%, 50% and 70%). To understand the differences in the results reported by Hodgkin and our
paper, we do a sensitivity analysis as a function of system and environmental parameters (f/#, RH, detection probability,
spectral width etc). For one set of parameters, we observe that the range curves RLW and RMW intersect at more than one
value of Tamb and suggest an analogy to a 're-entrant phase'. We also analyze how motion blur affects the two bands, at
different Tamb.
Recently there has been considerable interest in two-color focal plane arrays (FPAs), particularly in mercury cadmium telluride. Single-color FPAs provide only the signal from the target, not its emissivity and temperature separately. The schemes that have been implemented for two-color FPAs involve two bumps per pixel, and two back-to-back diodes in four different layers, which are technologically challenging. We propose a simple scheme that requires only one bump per pixel, in a material that is not a heterostructure, and can be grown by liquid phase or molecular beam epitaxy. The two different cutoff wavelengths are obtained by implanting two different junction depths in a n+-on-p configuration. Since the n+ layer does not contribute, because of the Moss-Burstein shift, the different diodes correspond to different surface composition values, xs1 and xs2, in the graded p-type epilayer. The precise cutoff wavelengths can be chosen by appropriate slope s of the composition in the epilayer. For the purpose of radiometry it is not necessary that the two cutoff wavelengths should differ by large amounts: even 0.3 mm is sufficient - easily achievable, with reasonable junction depths. The two colors could form a checkerboard pattern across the FPA.
The performance of an IR detector in an area array has been studied by numerically solving the 2-D diffusion equation for thermal and photo-generated carriers. The zero-bias resistance area product, RoA, quantum efficiency (eta) and the noise equivalent temperature difference, NETD, for diodes of different size and junction depth have been calculated for long wavelength infrared (LWIR) HgCdTe n+-on-p diffusion-limited diodes in the back-side illuminated configuration. The results of RoA have been compared with analytical expressions, both in special and general cases. The highest RoA is obtained for low junction depths and diodes with very little dead space. Small diodes have low (eta) , but their integration time can be increased. The temporal NETD is then almost independent of diode geometry. In the 2-D calculations, thermally generated carriers and photocarriers that originate under the junction (the normal current) as well as those that originate from around the junction (the lateral current) have been incorporated. The above study has been carried out using a uniform grid in the solution of the diffusion equation to obtain the carrier concentration profiles. The calculation of the diffusion currents- of both optical and thermally generated carriers- has been done using trapezoidal grid points, which are better suited to the symmetry of a diode in an area array. The present results are compared with previous calculations in which a uniform grid was used in the complete calculations. The results of RoA and (eta) differ by as much as 25% between the uniform and trapezoidal grids.
KEYWORDS: Diodes, Quantum efficiency, Diffusion, Absorption, Chemical elements, Photovoltaics, Long wavelength infrared, Mercury cadmium telluride, Monte Carlo methods, Optical engineering
The noise-equivalent-temperature difference (NETD) is calculated in fixed-pattern-noise-limited mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) focal-plane arrays (FPA5) for both 3- to 5-μm and 8- to 14-μm terrestrial imaging applications, on the basis of a model for MCT in which a linear two-point compensation scheme is considered. The contributions to the NETD from the fixed-pattern noise of an array-in terms of gain, offset, and residual error-are calculated and taken in quadrature to obtain the NETD of the FPA. The effect of stability of the focal-plane temperature is included, but the contribution of readout is not considered. The largest contribution to the NETD is from the residual error in the compensation scheme. Decreasing the intrascene temperature difference and including a sharp-cutoff filter are shown to decrease the NETD. The composition has been varied so as to obtain the lowest NETD in each band: at x = 0.31 in the 3- to 5-μm band, and at x = 0.22 to 0.23 in the 8- to 14- μm band (where x is the composition in the alloy Hg1-xCdxTe).
The NETD is calculated in FPN limited
MCT FPAs, on the basis of a model in
which two-point compensation is used
and the readout contribution to FPN is
not considered. It is shown that the
lowest NETD is obtained when x is
about 0.235 in MCT.
A model is presented to calculate response nonuniformity in a hybrid mercury cadmium telluride focal plane array in terms of material/
device parameters. The model predicts a minimum 10% intrinsic nonuniformity contribution from the IR detector array caused by compositional variations in detector material with the state-of-the-art HgCdTe material. In hybrid FPAs an additional contribution to the nonuniformity is caused by variations in the charge injection efficiency across the area of the array. The injection nonuniformity contribution can, however, be controlled to negligibly small values by working at very high injection efficiencies, on the order of 99%.
The injection efficiency of an 8- to 14-μm hybrid IR/CCD FPA is calculated from a transcendental equation involving the detector, CCD input currents, and the detector impedance Rd at the operating point. The latter has been varied either by changing the composition of x in the Hg1-x Cdx Te detector or by changing the tunneling current while x is kept constant. Calculations were carried out for both weak and strong inversion cases of the input MOSFET of the CCD. It is argued that for the 8- to 14-μm region, since the detector currents are high, operation of the input of the CCD in the strong inversion regime seems more reasonable.
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