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Uncooled IR Detectors Maintain Sensitivity

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Perfect detection of long-wavelength IR radiation may be possible without cooling the photodetector.

Jozef Piotrowski, Vigo Systems SA

There is a common belief that it is necessary to cool long-wavelength IR photodetectors to achieve high sensitivity. The radiation is characterized by low photon energy; thus, detection requires electron transitions with threshold energy lower than the photon energy. At near room temperature, the thermal energy of charge carriers becomes comparable to the transition energy, resulting in a very high rate of thermal generation. The statistical nature of this process is the source of signal noise. As a result, long-wavelength detectors become very noisy when operated at near room temperature. ...Read full article

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    Published: May 2004
    Basic ScienceCommunicationsdefenseenergyFeaturesIR photodetectorsMicroscopyphoton energySensors & Detectorssignal noisethermal generation

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