Wide bandwidth 10.6 µm (Hg,Cd)Te photodiodes for infrared heterodyne applications

摘要

This paper reports the lowest noise equivalent power (NEP), approximately 6.2 × 10-20watts/Hz, ever measured for 10.6 µm n+-n--p+(Hg,Cd)Te photodiodes at a frequency of 1750 MHz and at 77 K, as determined by blackbody heterodyne radiometry techniques (1-3). This value of NEP corresponds to an effective heterodyne quantum efficiency of 30%. The devices were fabricated by means of planar processing techniques and capacitance-voltage measurements revealed that the junctions were abrupt and contained a donor concentration in the n-layer of approximately 4.0 × 1014to 1.0 × 1015cm-3.