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Advanced High Operating Temperature Mid-Wave Infrared Sensors

Award Information

Agency:
Department of Defense 		Branch:
Army 		Award ID:
73898 		Program Year/Program:
2008 / SBIR
Agency Tracking Number:
A052-052-0738 		Solicitation Year:
N/A 		Solicitation Topic Code:
N/A 		Solicitation Number:
N/A
Small Business Information
EPIR Technologies Inc
590 Territorial Drive, Suite B Bolingbrook, IL -
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Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No
 
Phase 2
Fiscal Year: 2008
Title: Advanced High Operating Temperature Mid-Wave Infrared Sensors
Agency / Branch: DOD / ARMY
Contract: W911QX-08-C-0106
Award Amount: $729,994.00
 

Abstract:

The goal of this project is to reduce the cooling requirements of MWIR HgCdTe infrared photon detectors and improve detector performance at present-day cryogenic operating temperatures. During Phase I, we designed innovative Pn-N detectors and established the feasibility of growing the required HgCdTe-based structures by molecular beam epitaxy. Using this approach in a collaborative effort with the Army Research Laboratory and DRS Technologies, we demonstrated Auger suppression and high operating temperature devices based on LWIR MBE-grown HgCdTe. By employing a model similar to that previously developed, we propose to analyze two new approaches in Phase II to further reduce the dark currents: the implementation of novel PP+n-N+N and PP+p-N+N structures, and using p-type layers as absorbers. PP+n-N+N and PP+p-N+N structures benefit from reduced carrier injection into the absorber layers due to higher bandgap and higher doped barrier layers. Pp-N devices benefit from the slower Auger recombination in the absorber layers. The relative benefits and challenges of the four device architectures (Pn-N, Pp-N, PP+n-N+N and PP+p-N+N) will be evaluated. That architecture deemed to be most likely to be successful will be grown by MBE on large area silicon substrates. Non-equilibrium devices will be fabricated based on that architecture and fully characterized.

Principal Investigator:

Silviu Velicu
Senior Scientist/Director
6307710203
svelicu@epir.com

Business Contact:

Sivalingam Sivananthan
President
6307710201
ssivananthan@epir.com
Small Business Information at Submission:

EPIR TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
590 Territorial Drive, Suite B Bolingbrook, IL 60440

EIN/Tax ID: 364196918
DUNS: N/A
Number of Employees:
Woman-Owned: No
Minority-Owned: No
HUBZone-Owned: No