Raytheon Company

Santa Barbara Research Center

Peter R Bratt

David R Rhiger

Charles A Cockrum

David R Nelson

Owen K Wu

An array 1 of photodiodes 2 is comprised of a Group II-VI material, such as HgCdTe, which may be selectively doped to form a plurality of diode junctions. Array 1 is comprised of a plurality of photodiodes 2 which are disposed in a regular, two dimensional array. Incident IR radiation, which may be long wavelength, medium wavelength or short wavelength (LWIR, MWIR or SWIR) radiation, is incident upon a surface of the array 1. The array 1 comprises a radiation absorbing base layer 3 of Hg.sub.1-x Cd.sub.x Te semiconducting material, the value of x determining the responsivity of the array to either LWIR, MWIR or SWIR. Each of the photodiodes 2 is defined by a mesa structure, or cap layer 3; or the array 1 of photodiodes 2 may be a planar structure. Each of the photodiodes 2 is provided with an area of contact metallization 4 upon a top surface thereof, the metallization serving to electrically couple an underlying photodiode to a readout device. The upper surface of the array 1 is provided with, in accordance with the invention, a passivation layer 5 comprised of an epitaxial layer of Group II-VI material which forms a heterostructure with the underlying Group II-VI material and which has a wider bandgap than the underlying Hg(.sub.1-x)Cd.sub.x Te, thereby beneficially repelling both holes and electrons from the diode junctions.

Epitaxial passivation of group II-VI infrared photodetectors

Optical immersion of a semiconductor photodetector to a plano-convex lens is obtained with a spring arranged to urge the photodetector to abut the lens. To facilitate alignment of the detector and the lens, the spring defines, in one embodiment, a convex surface to abut a substrate that carries the detector. In another embodiment, alignment is facilitated by a ball positioned between the spring and the substrate. Optical noise is reduced by a dielectric between the detector and the lens, with the dielectric thickness less than 1/10 of any radiation wavelength of interest.

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Goleta, CA, United States of America

Peter R Bratt