Paper
27 August 2010 Detectors of terahertz radiation based on Pb1-xSnxTe(In)
Author Affiliations +
Abstract
Doping of the lead telluride and related alloys with the group III impurities results in appearance of the unique physical features of a material, such as persistent photoresponse, enhanced responsive quantum efficiency (up to 100 photoelectrons/incident photon), radiation hardness and many others. We present the physical principles of operation of the photodetecting devices based on the group III-doped IV-VI including the possibilities of a fast quenching of the persistent photoresponse, construction of the focal-plane array, new readout technique, and others. The advantages of infrared photodetecting systems based on the group III-doped IV-VI in comparison with the modern photodetectors are summarized. The spectra of the persistent photoresponse have not been measured so far because of the difficulties with screening the background radiation. We report on the observation of strong persistent photoconductivity in Pb0.75Sn0.25Te(In) under the action of monochromatic submillimeter radiation at wavelengths of 176 and 241 microns. The sample temperature was 4.2 K, the background radiation was completely screened out. The sample was initially in the semiinsulating state providing dark resistance of more than 100 GOhm. The responsivity of the photodetector is by several orders of magnitude higher than in the state of the art Ge(Ga). The red cut-off wavelength exceeds the upper limit of 220 microns observed so far for the quantum photodetectors in the uniaxially stressed Ge(Ga). It is possible that the photoconductivity spectrum of Pb1-xSnxTe(In)covers all the submillimeter wavelength range.
© (2010) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Dmitry Khokhlov "Detectors of terahertz radiation based on Pb1-xSnxTe(In)", Proc. SPIE 7763, Terahertz Emitters, Receivers, and Applications, 776308 (27 August 2010); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.859443
Advertisement
Advertisement
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission  Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace
KEYWORDS
Photodetectors

Semiconductors

Optical filters

Helium

Infrared radiation

Terahertz radiation

Black bodies

Back to Top