A new photoconductive sensor for 10.6- mu m infrared radiation

A room-temperature sensor using absorption due to the intervalence band transition at 10.6 mu m is investigated. The sensor is fabricated by forming an L-H junction on p-type Ge. It is shown that the device can also be used as a homodyne sensor. The detected voltage depends on the absorption coefficient of the absorption layer. It is possible to improve the detected voltage by increasing the local oscillator power.<
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