INFRARED DETECTING ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, AND INFRARED DETECTOR

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an infrared detecting element which has a high specific detectivity and a structure thereof.SOLUTION: An infrared detecting element comprises: a carrier supply layer 23 including a quantum level La at which electrons are captured; a light absorption layer 25 including semiconductor quantum dots and having at least three quantum levels as a first quantum level L1 at which the semiconductor dots capture electrons from the carrier supply layer, a second quantum level L2 lower in energy level than the L1 and changing in energy level to a fourth quantum level L4 by Coulomb interaction with the electrons captured by the L1, and a third quantum level L3 lower in energy level than the L2; and a carrier conduction layer 27 having a sub-band level Lm substantially equal in energy level to La, electrons captured by La of the carrier supply layer conducting in the Lm through the L4 when the L4 reaches an energy level substantially equal to the Lm as the light absorption layer absorbs light having a predetermined wavelength and the electrons captured by the L1 are excited by the L3 to decrease in number.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3