Dispositivos optoeletronicos para o infravermelho termal

AUTOR(ES)
DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

1994

RESUMO

The IV-VI materiais semiconducting devices are important due to their several applications in the thermal infrared spectral region (5 mm £ l £ 14 mm). Radiation detectors as well as semiconductor lasers made out with those compounds have several uses, ranging from satellite s attitude control to high resolution spectroscopy. Among the important materiais of this group the Pb1-xSnxTe alloy highlights itself because the tunability of its direct gap in the whole thermal infrared region for l ³ 5 mm. Photoconductors and photovoltaic detectors, semiconductor lasers and, more recently, monolithic arrays, quantum wells and mesoscopic structures, were successful developed with this semiconductor material. The first part of this work describes the processing and characterization of these devices, as well as a new approach to the VMS (Vapor-Melt-Solid) growth method, which produced PbTe and PbSnTe monocrystals with a high axial homogeneity. After being oriented, sliced and optically polished, the crystals were used as substrates to fabricate infrared photovoltaic sensors and semiconductor lasers by LPE (Liquid Phase Epitaxy). The second part presents the details of the technique and of the construction of a Hot Wall Epitaxy -HWE system, which allows a better control over the epitaxiallayers growth. This system was used for the growth of PbTe and Pb1-xSnxTe epitaxiallayers in several substrates, such as KCl, PbTe, BaF2 and Si (111), as well as to study new methods to optimize the growth process. As for the silicon substrates, it was reported for the first time, the construction of p-n junctions that, after processing, had produced photovoltaic detectors with excellent detectivities characteristics. The main motivation for producing IV-VI compounds detectors on silicon substrates is the possibility to obtain monolithic sensor arrays with several detectors and their associate signal processing electronics, integrated on the same substrate

ASSUNTO(S)

espectro infravermelho semicondutores dispositivos optoeletronicos epitaxia

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