Direct growth of CdZnTe/Si substrates for large-area HgCdTe infrared focal plane arrays

Direct epitaxial growth of high-quality 100lCdZnTe on 3 inch diameter vicinal {100}Si substrates has been achieved using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE); a ZnTe initial layer was used to maintain the {100} Si substrate orientation. The properties of these substrates and associated HgCdTe layers grown by liquid phase epitaxy (LPE) and subsequently processed long wavelength infrared (LWIR) detectors were compared directly with our related efforts using CdZnTe/ GaAs/Si substrates grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The MBE-grown CdZnTe layers are highly specular and have both excellent thickness and compositional uniformity. The x-ray full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of the MBE-grown CdZnTe/Si increases with composition, which is a characteristic of CdZnTe grown by vapor phase epitaxy, and is essentially equivalent to our results obtained on CdZnTe/GaAs/Si. As we have previously observed, the x-ray FWHM of LPE-grown HgCdTe decreases, particularly for CdZnTe compositions near the lattice matching condition to HgCdTe; so far the best value we have achieved is 54 arc-s. Using these MBE-grown substrates, we have fabricated the first high-performance LWIR HgCdTe detectors and 256 x 256 arrays using substrates consisting of CdZnTe grown directly on Si without the use of an intermediate GaAs buffer layer. We find first that there is no significant difference between arrays fabricated on either CdZnTe/Si or CdZnTe/GaAs/Si and second that the results on these Si-based substrates are comparable with results on bulk CdZnTe substrates at 78K. Further improvements in detector performance on Si-based substrates require a decrease in the dislocation density.     

Heteroepitaxy of HgCdTe(112) infrared detector structures on Si(112) substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy

High-quality, single-crystal epitaxial films of CdTe(112)B and HgCdTe(112)B have been grown directly on Si(112) substrates without the need for GaAs interfacial layers. The CdTe and HgCdTe films have been characterized with optical microscopy, x-ray diffraction, wet chemical defect etching, and secondary ion mass spectrometry. HgCdTe/Si infrared detectors have also been fabricated and tested. The CdTe(112)B films are highly specular, twin-free, and have x-ray rocking curves as narrow as 72 arc-sec and near-surface etch pit density (EPD) of 2 × 10⁶ cm⁻² for 8 μm thick films. HgCdTe(112)B films deposited on Si substrates have x-ray rocking curve FWHM as low as 76 arc-sec and EPD of 3-22 × 10⁶ cm⁻². These MBE-grown epitaxial structures have been used to fabricate the first high-performance HgCdTe IR detectors grown directly on Si without use of an intermediate GaAs buffer layer. HgCdTe/Si infrared detectors have been fabricated with 40% quantum efficiency and R₀A = 1.64 × 10⁴ Ωm₂ (0 FOV) for devices with 7.8 μm cutoff wavelength at 78Kto demonstrate the capability of MBE for growth of large-area HgCdTe arrays on Si.     

GaSb: A New Alternative Substrate for Epitaxial Growth of HgCdTe

In this work, GaSb is proposed as a new alternative substrate for the growth of HgCdTe via molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Due to the smaller mismatch in both lattice constant and coefficient of thermal expansion between GaSb and HgCdTe, GaSb presents a better alternative substrate for the epitaxial growth of HgCdTe, in comparison to alternative substrates such as Si, Ge, and GaAs. In our recent efforts, a CdTe buffer layer technology has been developed on GaSb substrates via MBE. By optimizing the growth conditions (mainly growth temperature and VI/II flux ratio), CdTe buffer layers have been grown on GaSb substrates with material quality comparable to, and slightly better than, CdTe buffer layers grown on GaAs substrates, which is one of the state-of-the-art alternative substrates used in growing HgCdTe for the fabrication of mid-wave infrared detectors. The results presented in this paper indicate the great potential of GaSb to become the next generation alternative substrate for HgCdTe infrared detectors, demonstrating MBE-grown CdTe buffer layers with rocking curve (double crystal x-ray diffraction) full width at half maximum of ～60 arcsec and etch pit density of ～10⁶ cm^?2.     

异质衬底外延碲镉汞薄膜位错抑制技术进展

分子束外延碲镉汞技术是制备第三代红外焦平面探测器的重要手段,基于异质衬底的碲镉汞材料具有尺寸大、成本低、与常规半导体设备兼容等优点,是目前低成本高性能红外探测器发展中的研究重点。对异质衬底上碲镉汞薄膜位错密度随厚度的变化规律进行了建模计算,结果显示ρ～1/h 模型与实验结果吻合度好,异质衬底上原生碲镉汞薄膜受位错反应半径制约,其位错密度无法降低至 5×10⁶cm^-2以下,难以满足长波、甚长波器件的应用需求。为了有效降低异质外延的碲镉汞材料位错密度,近年来出现了循环退火、位错阻挡和台面位错吸除等位错抑制技术,本文介绍了各技术的原理及进展,分析了后续发展趋势及重点。循环退火和位错阻挡技术突破难度大,发展潜力小,难以将碲镉汞位错密度控制在 5×10⁵cm^-2以内。台面位错吸除技术目前已经显示出了巨大的发展潜力和价值,后续与芯片工艺融合后,有望大幅促进低成本长波、中长波、甚长波器件的发展。     

Relevance of Thermal Mismatch in Large-Area Composite Substrates for HgCdTe Heteroepitaxy

It is well known that the large lattice mismatch (>14%) associated with CdTe/Si, CdTe/Ge, and CdTe/GaAs composite substrates, is a great contributor to large dislocation densities and other defects that limit the performance of HgCdTe-based infrared detectors. Though thermal expansion mismatch is another possible contributor to material defects, little work has been done towards documenting and understanding its effects in these systems. Here, we perform studies to determine the relative contributions of lattice and thermal mismatch to CdTe film characteristics, including dislocation density and residual stress. Unannealed and thermally cycled films are characterized using x-ray diffraction, defect decoration, and Nomarski and transmission electron microscopy. For CdTe/Si, the residual stress is consistently observed to be tensile, while for CdTe/Ge and CdTe/GaAs, a compressive residual film stress is measured. We show based on theoretically predicted stress levels that the experimental measurements imply the dominance of thermal mismatch in the residual stress characteristics.     

Assessment of the resistance to diffusion destruction of AlAs/GaAs nanoscale resonant-tunneling heterostructures by IR spectral ellipsometry

A technique for assessing the quality of AlAs/GaAs nanoscale resonant-tunneling heterostructures from the viewpoint of their resistance to diffusion destruction is developed. The diffusive spreading of AlAs/GaAs heterostructure layers is revealed by infrared (IR) spectral ellipsometry and the Al and Si diffusion coefficients in GaAs are determined.     

新一代长波长红外探测器

文章旨在介绍适应于长波红外焦平面阵列技术发展的红外探测器，由于篇幅的关系，本文着重评述ＩｎＡｓＳｂ应变层超晶格红外探测器和ＧａＡｓ／ＧａＡｌＡｓ多量子阱红外探测器的特点、器件结构、主要制作工艺，性能参数，以及急需要解决的一些问题。     

Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors:the Basic Design and New Research Directions

The basic design principles and parameters of GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIP) are reviewed.Furthermore new research directions,devices and applications suited for QWIPs are discussed.These include monolithic integration of QWIPs with GaAs based electronic and optoelectronic devices,high frequency and high speed QWIPs and applications,multicolor and multispectral detectors,and p-type QWIPs.     

Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors:the Basic Design and New Research Directions

IntroductionThe physics and applications of quantumwell infrared photodetectors ( QWIP) based onGa As/Al Ga As materials are well established.Thermal infrared( IR) imaging is the main existingapplication of QWIPs fabricated into focal plane...     

硅基红外焦平面阵列技术的新进展(Ⅰ)

主要介绍以硅为衬底的非本征硅、金属硅化物（Ｐｄ２Ｓｉ，ＰｔＳｉ和ＩｒＳｉ）肖特基势垒红外探测器、ＧｅｘＳｉ１－ｘ／Ｓｉ异质结内光电发射红外探测器、硅基红外图象传感器、硅微测辐射热计等红外探测器焦平面阵列的新进展     

Metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy growth and characterization of thick (100) CdTe layers on (100) GaAs and (100) GaAs/Si substrates

The growth characteristics and crystalline quality of thick (100) CdTe-epitaxial layers grown on (100) GaAs and (100) GaAs/Si substrates in a metal-organic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) system for possible applications in x-ray imaging detectors were investigated. High-crystalline-quality epitaxial layers of thickness greater than 100 μm could be readily obtained on both types of substrates. The full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of the x-ray double-crystal rocking curve (DCRC) decreased rapidly with increasing layer thickness, and remained around 50–70 arcsec for layers thicker than 30 μm on both types of substrates. Photoluminescence (PL) measurement showed high-intensity excitonic emission with very small defect-related peaks from both types of epilayers. Stress analysis carried out by performing PL as a function of layer thickness showed the layers were strained and a small amount of residual stress, compressive in CdTe/GaAs and tensile in CdTe/GaAs/Si, remained even in the thick layers. Furthermore, the resistivity of the layers on the GaAs substrate was found to be lower than that of layers on GaAs/Si possibly because of the difference of the activation of incorporated impurity from the substrates because of the different kinds of stress existing on them. A heterojunction diode was then fabricated by growing a CdTe epilayer on an n⁺-GaAs substrate, which exhibited a good rectification property with a low value of reverse-bias leakage current even at high applied biases.     

Si/GaAs异质结界面态及其价带不连续性

本文报道用自洽EHT方法研究Si/GaAs异质结界面态分布和价带不连续性。用准共度晶格模型处理晶格失配问题,并对晶格常数作了修正。通过对Si/GaAs(111)、Si/GaAs(111)和Si/GaAs(110)异质结中Si应变和GaAs应变的情况,分别进行计算,得到界面态分布和价带不连续值等物理量,结果表明:它们不仅依赖于组成异质结的两种材料的体性质,而且还依赖于界面晶向和材料应变。文中给出了这些计算结果,并作了初步的讨论。     

Doping-spike PtSi Schottky infrared detectors with extended cutoffwavelengths

A technique incorporating a p⁺ doping spike at the silicide/Si interface to reduce the effective Schottky barrier of the silicide infrared detectors and thus extend the cutoff wavelength has been developed. In contrast to previous approaches which relied on the tunneling effect, this approach utilizes a thinner doping spike (<2 nm) to take advantage of the strong Schottky image force near the silicide/Si interface and thus avoid the tunneling effect. The critical thickness, i.e., the maximum spike thickness without the tunneling effect has been determined and the extended cutoff wavelengths have been observed for the doping-spike PtSi Schottky infrared detectors. Thermionic-emission-limited and thermally assisted tunneling dark current characteristics were observed for detectors with spikes thinner and thicker than the critical thickness, respectively     

GaAs／AlGaAs多量子阱器件均匀性研究

从几个方面研究了ＧａＡｓ／ＡｌＧａＡｓ多量子阱红外探测器的均匀性,找到了影响其均匀性的几个因素,今后的工作奠定了基础。     

Detector material and sensitivity analysis for space-based infrared sensors

The ultimate detection performance of HgCdTe, quantum well (QW) and extrinsic Si detectors under low temperatures is analyzed. The theoretical limits of the internal photon response for the three detectors are compared. The materials of space-based detectors in space tracking and surveillance system (STSS) are discussed. The results show that among three detectors, the best performance can be obtained from HgCdTe detectors under 40 K in the mid-long wave infrared (MLWIR) and long wave infrared (LWIR) spectr...     

Effect of Misorientation and Preliminary Etching of the Substrate on the Structural and Optical Properties of Integrated GaAs/Si(100) Heterostructures Produced by Vapor Phase Epitaxy

It is shown for the first time that the structural and optical functional characteristics of integrated GaAs/Si(100) heterostructures can be controlled by using misoriented Si(100) substrates and their preliminary etching. The growth of an epitaxial GaAs layer on a Si substrate without the formation of antiphase domains can be carried out on a substrate deviated from the (100) singular plane by an angle smaller than 4°–6° or without a transition layer of GaAs nanocolumns. Preliminary treatment of the silicon substrate by etching makes it possible to use it for the vapor-phase epitaxial growth of a single-crystal GaAs film with a considerably smaller relaxation coefficient, which has a positive effect on the structural quality of the film. These data are in good agreement with the results of IR reflectance spectroscopy and photoluminescence and ultraviolet spectroscopy. The features of the optical properties of integrated GaAs/Si(100) heterostructures in the infrared and ultraviolet spectral regions are also defined by the relaxation coefficient.     

HgCdTe/Si materials for long wavelength infrared detectors

The heteroepitaxial growth of HgCdTe on large-area Si substrates is an enabling technology leading to the production of low-cost, large-format infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs). This approach will allow HgCdTe FPA technology to be scaled beyond the limitations of bulk CdZnTe substrates. We have already achieved excellent mid-wavelength infrared (MWIR) and short wavelength infrared (SWIR) detector and FPA results using HgCdTe grown on 4-in. Si substrates using molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and this work was focused on extending these results into the long wavelength infrared (LWIR) spectral regime. A series of nine p-on-n LWIR HgCdTe double-layer heterojunction (DLHJ) detector structures were grown on 4-in. Si substrates. The HgCdTe composition uniformity was very good over the entire 4-in. wafer with a typical maximum nonuniformity of 2.2% at the very edge of the wafer; run-to-run composition reproducibility, realized with real-time feedback control using spectroscopic ellipsometry, was also very good. Both secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and Hall-effect measurements showed well-behaved doping and majority carrier properties, respectively. Preliminary detector results were promising for this initial work and good broad-band spectral response was demonstrated; 61% quantum efficiency was measured, which is very good compared to a maximum allowed value of 70% for a non-antireflection-coated Si surface. The R₀A products for HgCdTe/Si detectors in the 9.6-μm and 12-μm cutoff range were at least one order of magnitude below typical results for detectors fabricated on bulk CdZnTe substrates. This lower performance was attributed to an elevated dislocation density, which is in the mid-10⁶ cm⁻² range. The dislocation density in HgCdTe/Si needs to be reduced to <10⁶ cm⁻² to make high-performance LWIR detectors, and multiple approaches are being tried across the infrared community to achieve this result because the technological payoff is significant.     

国外量子阱红外焦平面探测器的发展概况

以GaAs／A1GaAs为代表的Ⅲ-Ⅴ量子阱红外焦平面探测器因其成熟的材料生长和器件工艺技术,一直是与传统的HgCdTe红外探测器并驾齐驱的红外探测器。近十年来随着对器件结构、机理及器件工艺的不断改进,大面阵Ⅲ-Ⅴ量子阱红外焦平面器件发展显著。本文介绍了量子阱红外焦平面探测器的优越性及存在的问题,当前欧美国家量子阱红外焦平面探测器的最新研究发展、产品现状及应用前景。     

多色量子阱红外探测器的发展（上）

军用红外探测器需要使用工作在各种红外波段的大规格,高均匀性多色焦平面阵列器件。满足这些要求的一个候选者就是量子阱红外（光电）探测器（QuantumWell Infrared Photodetector,QWIP）。作为新一代红外探测器,QWIP基于极薄半导体异质结构中的载流子束缚效应。GaAs／A1GaAs／QWIP的主要优点包括标准的III—V族衬底材料和技术、良好的热稳定性、大面积、低研发成本以及抗辐射性。QWIP的另一个重要优点是具有带隙工程能力。可以通过调节量子阱宽度和势垒组分设计出满足特殊要求（例如多色焦平面列阵应用）的器件结构。介绍了对QwIP探测物理机制的理解以及近年来多色QwIP技术的发展状况。     

国外长波红外焦平面列阵现状

文中介绍了长波工外焦平面列阵的国外进展，这些列阵包括碲镉汞光电二极管、肖特基势垒器件、砷化镓／砷铝镓多量子阱光导体、高温超导体以及室温工作的焦平面列阵，其中非制冷的混合式热释电陶瓷和单片式的微型测辐射热计焦平面列阵已进入批理生产阶段。