FABRICATION OF IR DETECTOR ARRAYS ON SILICON SUBSTRATES BY PULSED LASER DEPOSITION

PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE ADVANCING THE FABRICATION AND DESIGN TECHNOLOGY OF IR DETECTORS FROM BULK HGCDTE TO THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OF THIN FILMS; MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD FILMS ON SILICON WAFERS; AND IMPLEMENTING THE TECHNIQUE OF PULSED LASER DEPOSITION (PLD) FOR THE FABRICATION OF THESE HETEROEPITAXIAL-COMPOUND, SEMICONDUCTOR IR DETECTORS. PRESENT METHODS OF MATERIAL GROWTH, FROM BULK PROCESSES TO THE VARIOUS TECHNIQUES FOR DEPOSITING EPITAXIAL FILMS, ARE ALL UNSATISFACTORY IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. BULK METHODS PRODUCE THE LEAST UNIFORM MATERIAL AND ARE LABOR INTENSIVE IN DETECTOR FABRICATION, WHILE EPITAXIAL FILMS ARE MORE UNIFORM BUT REQUIRE EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT (FOR EXAMPLE, MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY OR METAL-ORGANIC CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION). PLD IS THE METHOD OF CHOICE FOR THIS PROPOSED STUDY, IN THAT ONLY SINGLE LASER TARGETS ARE NEEDED FOR THE GROWTH OF MOST COMPOUND-MATERIAL FILMS, ATOMICSCALE LAYER RESOLUTION IS POSSIBLE, REPAID THROUGHPUT IS POSSIBLE, AND ONLY A MARGINAL INVESTMENT IS REQUIRED FOR ESTABLISHING THE GROWTH FACILITY. PROJECT OBJECTIVES ARE ADVANCING THE FABRICATION AND DESIGN TECHNOLOGY OF IR DETECTORS FROM BULK HGCDTE TO THE EMERGING TECHNOLOGY OF THIN FILMS; MAKING PROGRESS TOWARD FILMS ON SILICON WAFERS; AND IMPLEMENTING THE TECHNIQUE OF PULSED LASER DEPOSITION (PLD) FOR THE FABRICATION OF THESE HETEROEPITAXIAL-COMPOUND, SEMICONDUCTOR IR DETECTORS. PRESENT METHODS OF MATERIAL GROWTH, FROM BULK PROCESSES TO THE VARIOUS TECHNIQUES FOR DEPOSITING EPITAXIAL FILMS, ARE ALL UNSATISFACTORY IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER. BULK METHODS PRODUCE THE LEAST UNIFORM MATERIAL AND ARE LABOR INTENSIVE IN DETECTOR FABRICATION, WHILE EPITAXIAL FILMS ARE MORE UNIFORM BUT REQUIRE EXPENSIVE EQUIPMENT (FOR EXAMPLE, MOLECULAR BEAM EPITAXY OR METAL-ORGANIC CHEMICAL VAPOR DEPOSITION). PLD IS THE METHOD OF CHOICE FOR THIS PROPOSED STUDY, IN THAT ONLY SINGLE LASER TARGETS ARE NEEDED FOR THE GROWTH OF MOST COMPOUND-MATERIAL FILMS, ATOMICSCALE LAYER RESOLUTION IS POSSIBLE, REPAID THROUGHPUT IS POSSIBLE, AND ONLY A MARGINAL INVESTMENT IS REQUIRED FOR ESTABLISHING THE GROWTH FACILITY.