Noise in large-area CrlS Hg1-xCdxTe photovoltaic detectors

The National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Cross-track Infrared Sounder (CrIS) is a Fourier Transform interferometric sensor that measures earth radiances at high spectral resolution. Algorithms use the data to provide pressure, temperature, and moisture profiles of the atmosphere. The CrIS instrument contains photovoltaic detectors with spectral cut-offs denoted by SWIR, MWIR and LWIR. The CrIS instrument requires large-area, photovoltaic detectors with state-of-art detector performance at temperatures attainable with passive cooling. For example, detectors as large as 1 mm in diameter are required. To address these needs, Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) is used to grow the appropriate bandgap n-type Hg1-xCdxTe on lattice matched CdZnTe. The p-side is obtained via arsenic implantation followed by appropriate annealing steps.

[1]  G. G. Stokes "J." , 1890, The New Yale Book of Quotations.