3-5 μm photoconductive detectors on liquid-phase-epitaxial-MCT

The authors aim to demonstrate the possibility to manufacture MCT-PC-detectors on the basis of LPE-material in the spectral range from 3-5 μm. The LPE-arrays exhibit the same performance as bulk arrays, but an improved homogeneity. The importance of annealing for the LPE-device technology has been examined. In addition to the advantage in homogeneity, the major potential of this technology lies in large scale production, for two main reasons: the yield is higher, as large wafers of high compositional homogeneity can be produced. In addition, the critical processes of attaching the MCT-wafer to a substrate and of thinning it down to about 10 μm, inevitable in bulk technology, are avoided. This means a reduction in overall processing time and a second increase in yield. Thus, LPE-technology might turn out to be more than a good alternative to bulk technology for MCT photoconductive detectors