INFRARED DETECTOR

摘要

An infrared detector which is capable of a high-efficiency detection of a single photon over a broad wavelength range from several µm to several hundreds of µm and is suitable for being formed into an array, wherein an infrared photon (37) having a vibration field parallel to the surface of the patch unit (36) of a micro strip antenna is shone and resonates, the vibration field is converted into a z-direction vibration field (38z), and an electron (39) in a normal-state sub-band (30) in a quantum dot (24a) absorbs a z-direction vibration field (38z), is excited to a first excitation state sub-band (31), tunnels through a potential barrier (32), escapes to a -z-direction quantum well (26), and is absorbed. Since the ionized field of a quantum dot (24a) by the escape of the electron (39) changes the conductivity of a point contact (26e) to ensure a prolonged ionized state, an integrated value of a change in current (42) running from a source (26a) to a drain (26b) becomes large enough to be detectable and sensitivity that enables the detection of one infrared photon can be attained.