| Sensitivity, noise and performance criteria were evaluated for different varieties of InAs/InGaAs quantum dots-in-a-well (DWELL) and quantum dots-in-a-double-well (double DWELL) focal plane arrays (FPAs). These characteristics were measured and compared to those measured from a commercial quantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) in the same experimental setup to allow a side-by-side comparison of these devices with many system variables held constant. The QWIP device was expected to perform the best, due to its higher number of active regions and enhancement grating, but the performance of the other devices was unknown. The DWELL and double DWELL samples were grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) and fabricated into 320 x 256 pixel FPAs with indium bumps via standard lithography at the University of New Mexico. All samples, including the 320 x 256 pixel QWIPs were hybridized to Indigo Systems Corporation ISC9705 read out integrated circuits and device performance was measured with the SE-IR Corporation CamIRa test system at part cooling of 60°K, 70°K and 80°K. The QWIP performed best at lower device cooling, but could not operate at 80°K. The DWELL device demonstrated favorable operation at 60°K, but performance at 70°K was poor and the device did not perform at 80°K. Both double DWELL devices under test performed well across all device temperatures. The mean NEDT for the DWELL was 143°mK and the two double DWELL devices were 105.7°mK and 160.6°mK at 60°K part temperature. The double DWELL devices showed the lower noise and higher responsivity at higher device temperatures. This document also reviewed methods of non-uniformity correction and suggested methods to improve performance and results by carefully choosing the method of correction and the values. |
