Performance characteristics of planar ion-implantation isolated heterojunction, near-infrared, and short-wave infrared HgCdTe devices

Two-dimensional near-infrared (NIR) and short-wave infrared (SWIR) HgCdTe arrays have been produced using planar ion-implantation isolated heterojunction (PI3H) device technology. This paper is an extension of an earlier study in which focal plane arrays (FPAs) were fabricated based on heterojunction-mesa and ion-implanted planar device structures. The PI3H device structure is pursued in order to verify whether it can encompass both the superb multilayer characteristics of heterojunction detectors as well as the planar integrity of ion-implanted devices. The PI3H devices are characterized, and R0A measurements are carried out at different temperatures and compared to those obtained from heterojunction-mesa and ion-implanted device structures. Data shows the PI3H devices to be superior to both heterojunctionmesa and ion-implanted detectors at temperatures between 130 K and 300 K. Performance characteristics of the thermoelectric (TE) cooled SWIR FPAs with 320 × 256 format, as well as NIR FPAs with 640×512 format based on the PI3H device structure are also discussed.