Technology development for InSb infrared imagers

InSb semiconductor technology required for infrared-detector-array fabrications is described. High-quality MOS, MOSFET, and linear and two-dimensional (2D) CID devices have been successfully fabricated. Interface-state densities of the MOS capacitors were determined to be less than 5 × 10
¹⁰
cm
^-2
. eV
^-1
, respectively. These results suggest that self-scanned monolithic arrays could be fabricated. The performance of linear and 2D CID arrays were evaluated in terms of detectivity (D
^*
) and responsivity (
R
). The average D
^*
of a 64- element line array was measured to be 3.4 × 10
¹¹
cm. Hz
^1/2
. W
^-1
which is 70 percent of that of "background-limited-performance" (BLIP) operation. The
R
was 1 × 10
^-5
V/photon with 10-percent uniformity. The D
^*
and
R
were also obtained for a 32 × 32 2D array.