HgCdTe versus Other Material Systems: A Historical Look

Rogalski, Antoni, Institute of Applied Physics, Military University of Technology

doi:10.1117/3.1002245.ch14

Book: The Wonder of Nanotechnology: Quantum Optoelectronic Devices and Applications

Editor(s): Leo Esaki; Klaus von Klitzing; Manijeh Razeghi

Author(s): Antoni Rogalski

Published: 2013

https://doi.org/10.1117/3.1002245.ch14

Author Affiliations +

Abstract

Observing the history of the development of the infrared (IR) detector technology after World War II, many materials have been investigated. A simple theorem, after Norton, can be stated: "All physical phenomena in the range of about 0.1-1 eV will be proposed for IR detectors." Among these effects are: thermoelectric power (thermocouples), change in electrical conductivity (bolometers), gas expansion (Golay cell), pyroelectricity (pyroelectric detectors), photon drag, Josephson effect [Josephson junctions, superconducting quantum interference devices (SQUIDs)], internal emission (PtSi Schottky barriers), fundamental absorption (intrinsic photodetectors), impurity absorption (extrinsic photodetectors), low-dimensional solids [superlattice (SL), quantum well (QW), and quantum dot (QD) detectors], different type of phase transitions, etc.