HgCdTe– an Unexpectedly Good Choice for (Near) Room Temperature Focal Plane Arrays

Abstract

AbstractFueled by a broad range of government needs and funding, HgCdTe materials and device technology has matured significantly over the last two decades. Also in this same time period, we have come to understand better the phenomenology which limits imager performance. As a result of these developments, it appears that HgCdTe arrays may be tailored in wavelength to outperform GaAs-based image intensifier devices in sensitivity and to compete with bolometric and pyroelectric imaging arrays in NEDT at temperatures at or near room temperature (250K–295K). These benefits can be fully realized, however, only if HgCdTe can be brought to a level of maturity where the material and detectors made from it are limited by fundamental mechanisms. We will discuss the state of HgCdTe near room temperature performance and the practical and theoretical limits which constrain it.