BROAD-BAND QUANTUM WELL INFRARED PHOTODETECTORS

摘要

A quantum well (200) can be designed to detect light of a particular wavelength by tailoring the potential depth and width of the well (202). The design produces two energy states (210, 208) in the well (202) separated by the desired photon energy. The GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs material system allows the quantum well shape to be varied over a range wide enough to enable light detection at wavelengths longer than approximately 6 mm. Hence, large bandgap materials such as GaAs/AlxGa1-xAs material has made fabrication of a large focal plane arrays tuned to detect light at wavelengths from 6 to 25 mm possible.