The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 31, 2012
Filed:
Dec. 05, 2006
Lewis T. Claiborne, Richardson, TX (US);
Pradip Mitra, Colleyville, TX (US);
Lewis T. Claiborne, Richardson, TX (US);
Pradip Mitra, Colleyville, TX (US);
Xylon LLC, Las Vegas, NV (US);
Abstract
A diffraction grating coupled infrared photodetector for providing high performance detection of infrared radiation is described. The photodetector includes a three-dimensional diffractive resonant optical cavity formed by a diffraction grating that resonates over a range of infrared radiation wavelengths. By placing a limited number of p/n junctions throughout the photodetector, the photodetector thermal noise is reduced due to the reduction in junction area. By retaining signal response and reducing the noise, the sensitivity increases at a given operating temperature when compared to traditional photovoltaic and photoconductive infrared photodetectors up to the background limit. The photodetector device design can be used with a number of semiconductor material systems, can form one- and two-dimensional focal plane arrays, and can readily be tuned for operation in the long wavelength infrared and the very long wavelength infrared where sensitivity and noise improvements are most significant.