LOW OPTICAL LEVEL IMAGE DETECTOR HAVING WAVELENGTH RESPONSE RANGE ENLARGED USING ATOMIC COUPLED (FUSED) SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIAL

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image detector having a plurality of unit cells for detecting radiation in a plurality of spectral bands, e.g. visible light and infrared rays, at low level. ;SOLUTION: Each unit cell 11 is provided with a first semiconductor material layer 18 having a low noise photogate read circuit 20 disposed contiguously to a first surface, and a second semiconductor material layer 14 for absorbing electromagnetic radiation having wavelength longer than about 1μm and generating charged carriers. The first layer 18 is coupled, on the side opposite to the first surface thereof atomically with the surface of the second layer 14 through a heterojunction boundary surface 16 and the generated charged carriers migrate through the atomically coupled heterojunction boundary surface 16 before being collected by the photogate read circuit 20.;COPYRIGHT: (C)1998,JPO