Multispectral imaging with type II superlattice detectors

Infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) with multispectral detector elements promise significant advantages for airborne threat warning, surveillance, and targeting applications. At present, the use of type II superlattice (T2SL) structures based on the 6.1Å-family materials (InAs, GaSb, and AlSb) has become an area of interest for developing IR detectors and their FPAs. The ability to vary the bandgap in the IR range, suppression of Auger processes, prospective reduction of Shockley-Read-Hall centers by improved material growth capabilities, and the material stability are a few reasons for the predicted dominance of the T2SL technology over presently leading HgCdTe and quantum well technologies. The focus of the work reported here is on the development of T2SL based dual-band IR detectors and their applicability for multispectral imaging. A new NpBPN detector designed for the detection of IR in the 3-5 and 8-12 μm atmospheric windows is presented; comparing its advantages over other T2SL based approaches. One of the key challenges of the T2SL dual-band detectors is the spectral crosstalk associated with the LWIR band. The properties of the state-of-the-art T2SLs (i.e., absorption coefficient, minority carrier lifetime and mobility, etc.) and the present growth limitations that impact spectral crosstalk are discussed.

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