Theoretical modelling of mercury cadmium telluride mid-wave detector for high temperature operation

Abstract

This study reports on photoelectrical performance: detectivity and response time of mid-wave infrared (MWIR) (111) mercury cadmium telluride (MCT/HgCdTe) detectors under high operating temperature (HOT) conditions. The detector structure was simulated with the numerical platform APSYS by Crosslight Inc. A detailed analysis of the detectivity and response time as a function of device architecture and applied bias was performed to optimise the working conditions. The detectivity and time response of the MWIR HgCdTe detector with 50% cut-off wavelength of λc ≃ 5.3 μm at T = 200 K were estimated to be D* = 2.6 × 1011 cm Hz1/2/W and τs ≃1650 ps, respectively, for V = 200 mV with a series resistance, RSeries = 380 Ω. Reducing the series resistance limits the response time to the τs ≃ 500 ps range.