Infrared Sensors

BY:
ARTURO QUINTANILLA IBÁÑEZ
Types of IR sensors

 Quantum effects
 Photoconductive
 Photodiodes
 Thermal effects
 Generally wavelength independent, signal depends on power, use filters for different
wavelengths.
 Operate at room temperature, cheaper
 Pyroelectric, change in internal polarization is measured (due to temp change because rad
absorption)
 Bolometers, change in electrical resistance changes (based on rtds, thermistors or
thermopiles)
IR Photodiodes

 Based on a p-n junction, when a photon enters the material it generates a e-h pair
-> generates a current/voltage
 Operation in reverse bias is preferred because it reduces capacitance -> faster
response
 But reverse bias increases noise
 Therefore, we can operate in zero bias to reduce heat load.
 At high temperature (aka room temp) and heavy doping, Auger recombination
becomes dominant.
 Auger 1 is the impact ionization by an electro which generates a e-h pair
 Auger 7 is the impact ionization by a hole which generates a e-h pair
IR sensors performance metrics

 Two main types of metrics: SNR and resolution

 Dark current: current due to bias and temperature.
 Cutoff wavelength: wavelength at which response drops bellow 50%
 BLIP temperature: temperature at which the dark current equals the background
photocurrent (for a certain FOV and temperature)
 RoA is used, where A is the area and Ro is the zero bias resistance (cant be used
with T2Sl because they require a bias to operate)
Dark current mechanisms

 Due to thermal gen rate, dark current increases exponentially with temp
 Inherit, depend on the material properties
 Auger/radiation recombination (not important in high quality MCT)
 Band to band tunneling (depends on dop concentration)
 Defect related, affected/helped by defects in the bulk/junction
 Diffusion due to traps
 Gen- rec in depletion region
 Trap assisted tunneling (strong effect)
 Surface generation (passivation reduces it)
 In narrow gap, diffusion dominates for small reverse bias(tunneling dominates around -
50mV)
NEDT noise equivalent difference temp

 Main figure of merit for IR sensors

 Required temperature differential temperature at the target in order to achieve a
certain SNR
• τ is the optics transmission spectrum
• C is a thermal constant
• Nw is the number of photo.gen carrirers in on a
integration time
• η blip is ratio of photon noise to FPA noise

 This shows that dark current and integration times are major issues for IR FPAs
NV-IPM

 Stands for “night vision integrated performance model”

 Developed by the US army to predict performance by human observers
 The main causes are: the FPA, the ROIC, the optics and coolers
 Uses intrinsic parameters as input (dark current, QE…)
 Uses end to end photon counting approach that represents each portion of the imaging
chain as a separate component.
 Performance is also affected by atmospheric conditions and target type
 Produces various outputs, NETD being one of them
 Rule 07

 Used to estimate the dark current for MCT (compare to other types and processes)
 Input is a certain wavelength and operating temperature
 Used for P on n diodes, dominated by n-type absorption layer (limited by Auger 1)
 Works well for SWIR and MWIR, not accurate for LWIR and VLWIR (underestimate)
 Has a set of requirements to be used:
 Operation temp higher than 60k
K= cte boltzmann
 N type doping 5.0 e14 to 2.09 e15 at/cm3 Jo = 8367 A/cm2
 Cutoff wavelength at 78k 2.5-17.2 μm C = -1.1524

 May need to be replaced in the near future (Law 19)

HgCdTe properties

 Advantages:
 Favorable recomb. mechanisms -> lower dark current -> higher temp operation
 Large optical coefficients -> good quantum efficiency
 Modifiable bandgap, from 1 to 30 μm
 Low dielectric constant -> less capacitance
 Disadvantages:
 Bad uniformity due to composition changes along the device during fabrication
 Hg produces weak bonds ->Uniformity also changes over time
 Large arrays suffer from mechanical fatigue due to thermal expansion
 Toxic material -> use limited by some agencies
HgCdTe properties

 Following this proportion: increasing Cd the energy gap increases, from -0.3 eV in HgTe to
1.648 eV in CdTe at 4.2 K

 High mobility for the electrons (affected by x due to changes in Eg)

 The intrinsic carrier concentration is also affected by x

 Can be uses as a photoconductor or a photodiode

HgCdTe properties

 Despite the changes in x, the lattice mismatch remain minimal (max 0.2%) for the hole IR
spectrum.
 The absorption coefficient model changes with the wavelength we want to operate in (also
affected by impurities, dislocations….)
 Absorption length decreases with the band gab (and therefore with the Cd concentration)
 Dielectric constant changes exponentially with x and is unaffected by temperature
HgCdTe Photodiodes

 Auger 1 and 7 recombination mechanisms are relatively insignificant in S and MWIR

at low temp.
 At higher temp, recombination accelerates due to traps
 With x=0.22:
 At zero bias diffusion current dominant down to 60k .
 At high reverse bias tunneling dominates + surface currents
 High defect density -> high leakage current at high temps
 MWIR insensitive at 77k
 LWIR need less than 2 e 5 cm−2 at 77k
HgCdTe Teledyne example
HgCdTe fabrication

 Two types of FPAs: monolithic and hybrid

 Use of epitaxial growth to create the MCT layer
 For p on n PDs:
 As often used for p-type (good stability, requires high temp annealing)
 In often used for n-type layers (due to high solubility)
 Passivation done with CdTe or Al2O3
 Difficulties during fabrication:
 Need for a CdZnTe substrate because of matching lattice
 Variation in Cd composition greatly affects cutoff wavelength in L and VLWIR
 High Hg pressure makes fabrication difficult to control
HgCdTe Epitaxy

 Dopping added during epitaxy

 LPE liquid phase epitaxy
 Most mature method
 Done from a cooling solution on the substrate
 Every time a layer is added, melts a bit the previous one
 Hg rich solutions can produce a wavy surface
 MBE molecular beam epitaxy (Vapor phase)
 Allows to modify growth conditions dynamically
 Low temperature (around 200º) and ultra high vacuum
Substrates

 CdZnTe
 Cant produce large areas
 High production cost
 Different Thermal Expansion Coefficient tan Si (compatibility problems)
 O impurities produce dislocations and voids in MCT
 Cu impurities cause low reproducibility and low time stability for electrical properties
 Saphire
 Requires a CdZnTe layer to accommodate lattice mismatch
 Excelent physical properties
 Allows for larger wafers
 Not suitable for back illuminated LWIR due to opacity (works fine with S and M)
Multicolor Sensors

 Used to incorporate MWIR and LWIR sensor in the same array

 Back illumination and reverse bias operation
 Based on back to back photodiodes (n-p-n)
 Two types: sequential and simultaneous
FPA cooling

 Use of a Dewar cooler to isolate from the exterior

 Unless lower temp is required, 77k (liquid nitrogen) is used as a reference
 Sensor enclosed in a vacuum to help isolation and avoid water and other substance
solidifying in the sensor.
 Stirling engine used for cooling (closed loop Stirling cycle)
 Two types: Rotary (simpler and cheaper but lower life) and linear (for space applications)
 In ground applications vibration isolation is sufficient
 In airborne and space applications, passive systems are used (heavy damped primary suspension and well
tunned vibration absorber or dynamical absorbers) and active systems (required for space operations: Dual
piston compressors and External actuators)
Other photodiode IR sensor materials

 Lead salt alloys

 InSb and InGaSb alloys
 GaAs and AlGaAs QWIPs
 III-V superlacites
 Extrinsic Si and Ge semiconductors
Lead salt ternary alloys

 Mostly PbSnTe and PbSnSe

 High dielectric constant -> high capacitance
 High thermal expansion coefficient
 Not used
InSb and InGaSb alloys

 InSb worse than HgCdTe at MWIR at higher temp

 Allows large size arra and more mature fabrication technology
 No need for substrate
 InGaSb good for near-Ir (1.0–1.7µm)
 Worse tan HCT ant MWIR and higher
GaAs and AlGaAs QWIPs

 Made using standard manufacturing (GaAs is a more mature technology)

 Consists on “sandwiching” a thin GaAs (small band gap) layer between AlGaAs (large band
gap)
 Uniform and controlled production -> higher yield than MCT
 Low quantum efficiency, especially at high temp (20-40%)
 Technically a photoconductor, but suited for arrays
 High end similar/slightly better than MCT but lower max frequency
 Suitable for multicolor sensors, allow for different bias for each level
 Low photoelectric gain
 At wavelengths below 10 μm les stringent cooling requirements
III-V type superlattices

 Good absorption of normal incident light

 Better uniformity and stability than MCT sensors
 Lower lifetimes due to traps than MCT -> penalty due to temperature compared to
MCT -> special architectures help reduce it
 Not harmful to the environment and health
 InAs/GaSb:  InAs/InAsSb:
 Better known  Newer, therefore less known
 Larger cutoff wavelength range  Simpler growth
 Stronger optical absorption  Better defect tolerance
 Longer minority carrier lifetime
Recent developments and current state

 Teledyne created in 2019 640x512 arrays capable of operating at:

 250 k in MWIR
 160 K in LWIR
 Arrays with as high as 3 Mpixels have been created with III-V
 MCT dominates in pure performance despite its more expensive nature.
 III-V despite a larger industrial basis and better uniformity, scalability and
affordability lacks behind.
Extrinsic Si and Ge semiconductors

 Type of photoresistors
 Used for ranges λ > 20 μm
 Use has decayed due to the need for very low op temperatures
 Si advantages over Ge:
 Better developed technology and better solubility -> thinner sensors
 MOS compatibility makes It easy to create large arrays with CCDs
 Lower dielectric constant
 High doping used to get high QE
Military uses of MCT sensors
Bibliography

 Infrared detectors: an overview – ScienceDirect

 HgCdTe infrared detector material: history, status and outlook – IOPscience
 HgCdTe/CdZnTe LPE epitaxial layers: From material growth to applications in devices – ScienceDirect
 Photodiodes based on p-on-n junctions formed in MBE-grown n-type MCT absorber layers for the spectral region 8 to 11 μm
– ScienceDirect
 Figure of merit for infrared detector materials – ScienceDirect
 Performance Evaluation of Type-II Superlattice Devices Relative to HgCdTe Photodiodes | IEEE Journals & Magazine | IEEE
Xplore
 Relative performance analysis of IR FPA technologies from the perspective of system level performance – ScienceDirect
 HgCdTe Diode Dark Current Modeling: Rule 07 Revisited for LW and VLW | SpringerLink
 Micromachines | Free Full-Text | Thermoelectrically-Cooled InAs/GaSb Type-II Superlattice Detectors as an Alternative to
HgCdTe in a Real-Time Mid-Infrared Backscattering Spectroscopy System (mdpi.com)
 Control of spaceborne linear cryocoolers: A review – ScienceDirect
 +Information from the Leonardo s.p.a, Raytheon, Teledyne, Lynred, Rheinmetall, Zeiss…. webpages