Tutorial: Photonic infrared detectors technologies

There has been significant advancement in photonic infrared (IR) detector technology in the past decade. In this tutorial, I will cover the basics of photonic IR detectors including the detection mechanisms and figures of merit. I will end with a survey of a few current technologies. Infrared imaging (3–25μm) has been an important technological tool for the past 60 years since the first report of infrared detectors in 1950s. In this tutorial, we will classify the detectors based on the wavelength range of interest, namely short wave infrared (SWIR, 1.5–3 microns), mid wave infrared (MWIR, 3–5 microns) and long wave infrared (LWIR, 8–12 microns). We will describe the physics and the technological challenges and will end with a survey of the technology landscape. Audience participation and discussion will be highly encouraged.