Issue 26, 2022

Photoconductive focal plane array based on HgTe quantum dots for fast and cost-effective short-wave infrared imaging

Abstract

HgTe nanocrystals, thanks to quantum confinement, present a broadly tunable band gap all over the infrared spectral range. In addition, significant efforts have been dedicated to the design of infrared sensors with an absorbing layer made of nanocrystals. However, most efforts have been focused on single pixel sensors. Nanocrystals offer an appealing alternative to epitaxially grown semiconductors for infrared imaging by reducing the material growth cost and easing the coupling to the readout circuit. Here we propose a strategy to design an infrared focal plane array from a single fabrication step. The focal plane array (FPA) relies on a specifically designed readout circuit enabling in plane electric field application and operation in photoconductive mode. We demonstrate a VGA format focal plane array with a 15 μm pixel pitch presenting an external quantum efficiency of 4–5% (15% internal quantum efficiency) for a cut-off around 1.8 μm and operation using Peltier cooling only. The FPA is compatible with 200 fps imaging full frame and imaging up to 340 fps is demonstrated by driving a reduced area of the FPA. In the last part of the paper, we discuss the cost of such sensors and show that the latter is only driven by labor costs while we estimate the cost of the NC film to be in the 10–20 € range.

Graphical abstract: Photoconductive focal plane array based on HgTe quantum dots for fast and cost-effective short-wave infrared imaging

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
07 3月 2022
Accepted
10 6月 2022
First published
13 6月 2022

Nanoscale, 2022,14, 9359-9368

Photoconductive focal plane array based on HgTe quantum dots for fast and cost-effective short-wave infrared imaging

C. Gréboval, D. Darson, V. Parahyba, R. Alchaar, C. Abadie, V. Noguier, S. Ferré, E. Izquierdo, A. Khalili, Y. Prado, P. Potet and E. Lhuillier, Nanoscale, 2022, 14, 9359 DOI: 10.1039/D2NR01313D

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements