For reasons primarily related to a lack of a suitable lattice matched substrate and the need to integrate with Si ROIC's, there is a need for delivery of low defect density HgCdTe epilayers on Si. Despite the significant lattice mismatch between Si and HgCdTe several US companies have demonstrated… More

Production of low cost, large format HgCdTe LWIR focal plane arrays (FPAs) requires delivery of low defect density HgCdTe epilayers on Si. Despite the significant lattice mismatch between Si and HgCdTe several companies have demonstrated high performance MBE grown MWIR (3-5 microns)-HgCdTe devices… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop a new passivation technique, derived from a recent discovery that semiconductors can be readily hydrogenated by simultaneous exposure to hydrogen gas and ultra-violet light. The technique has a number of advantages over… More

HgCdTe, with its high quantum efficiency, remains the material of choice for most high-performance infrared detector applications. By varying its alloy composition, HgCdTe can be used for short wavelength to very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR); however, its use in VLWIR (12-16 microns)… More

This Phase II Small Business Innovation Research project will deliver an innovative hydrogen passivation technique for improving manufacturability and performance of HgCdTe infrared detectors. Photon-Assisted Hydrogenation (PAH) causes the substrate to be hydrogenated by simultaneous exposure to… More

High-performance infrared detectors are mission-critical components of each layer of the Ballistic Missile Defense System. MDA is investing heavily in technologies that enhance producibility/operability of LWIR/VLWIR infrared focal plane arrays (FPAs), and reduce BMDS life cycle costs. HgCdTe is… More

The yield and operability of high performance infrared detectors, particularly those based on HgCdTe, are severely compromised by materials defects. Recently, ARI has demonstrated during its UV hydrogenation process that deuterium effectively 'decorates' defects in materials such as ZnCdTe and… More

This SBIR Phase I research project is to improve the performance of CdZnTe based gamma ray detectors by passivating as grown defects through a hydrogenization process. These defects are a source of leakage current and contribute to the backgound noise of the detectors. Successful completion of… More

Yields and operability of high performance infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPAs), particularly those fabricated in HgCdTe, are severely impacted by material defects introduced during growth and/or processing. Amethyst Wafer Mapping (AWM) is a materials characterization technology which when fully… More

Type II strained layer superlattice (SLS) p-n diode arrays fabricated on domestic-source GaSb substrates are a promising route to meet the critical need within DoD for large area, large format array infrared detectors. However, current SLS material quality is limiting detector performance. A… More

The InAs/InGaSb Strained Layer Superlattice (SLS) system is developing rapidly and is now finally poised to seriously challenge HgCdTe as the dominant technology for mid- and long-wave detection. SLS structures have a number of practical and theoretical advantages over HgCdTe materials, including… More

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop device structures for infrared sensor applications using lead chalcogenides. This system has reduced cooling requirements over other high performance infrared materials (such as HgCdTe) resulting from their reduced Auger… More

Active defects negatively impact the performance of IRFPAs by increasing noise at various levels up to, and including, catastrophic degradation. Evidence indicates that"killer defects"are related to the interaction of open core screw dislocations with impurities that remain after… More

For HgCdTe infrared focal plane arrays fabricated on Si substrates, a model has recently been proposed to account for the disparity between the density of failed pixels and the density of dislocations that are present in the HgCdTe junction region. The model distinguishes between active and inactive… More

Silicon wafers oriented on (112) are the preferred substrates for deposition of mercury cadmium telluride layers by molecular beam epitaxy. Surface defects introduced during polishing of the wafers degrade the quality of the epitaxy and the performance of infrared detectors fabricated within these… More

A collaboration between Amethyst Research Inc., University Multispectral Laboratories (a government-owned, contractor-operated nonprofit corporation), and Teledyne Imaging Systems (a large defense contractor) proposes to develop/improve high-performance infrared sensors based on Type II,… More

In Phase I we demonstrated a novel in-situ cleaning technique based on UV-activated surface reactions involving ozone and hydrogen to remove organic adsorbates and chemically-bonded impurities, e.g oxides, from the substrate surface. In Phase II the program will develop this process to… More

Improved performance SWIR sensors with extended wavelength response to 2.5 microns will be developed using two disruptive technologies with which Amethyst has demonstrated success: nBn detector structures and defect passivation via hydrogenation. Similar to conventional extended wavelength… More