title: Midwave thermal infrared detection using semiconductor selective absorption.
abstract: The performance of thermal detectors is derived for devices incorporating materials with non-uniform spectral absorption. A detector designed to have low absorption in the primary thermal emission band at a given temperature will have a background-limited radiation noise well below that of a blackbody absorber, which is the condition typically assessed for ultimate thermal detector performance. Specific examples of mid-wave infrared (ʎ ∼ 3-5 μm) devices are described using lead selenide as a primary absorber with optical cavity layers that maximize coupling. An analysis of all significant noise sources is presented for two example room-temperature devices designed to have detectivities up to 4.37 × 10(10) cm Hz(1/2) W(-1), which is a factor 3.1 greater than the traditional blackbody limit. An alternative method of fabricating spectrally selective devices by patterning a plasmonic structure in silver is also considered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA.
authors.forename: Ryan P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Shea
authors.forename: Anand S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Gawarikar
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Talghader