High-Performance Modulation-Doped Heterostructure-Thermopiles for Uncooled Infrared Image-Sensor Application

Masayuki ABE  Noriaki KOGUSHI  Kian Siong ANG  René HOFSTETTER  Kumar MANOJ  Louis Nicholas RETNAM  Hong WANG  Geok Ing NG  Chon JIN  Dimitris PAVLIDIS  

Publication
IEICE TRANSACTIONS on Electronics   Vol.E95-C    No.8    pp.1354-1362
Publication Date: 2012/08/01
Online ISSN: 1745-1353
DOI: 10.1587/transele.E95.C.1354
Print ISSN: 0916-8516
Type of Manuscript: Special Section PAPER (Special Section on Heterostructure Microelectronics with TWHM 2011)
Category: GaN-based Devices
Keyword: 
Seebeck effect,  heterostructure-thermopile,  AlGaAs/InGaAs,  AlGaN/GaN,  HEMT,  FPA,  infrared image sensor,  

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Summary: 
Novel thermopiles based on modulation doped AlGaAs/InGaAs and AlGaN/GaN heterostructures are proposed and developed for the first time, for uncooled infrared FPA (Focal Plane Array) image sensor application. The high responsivity with the high speed response time are designed to 4,900 V/W with 110 µs for AlGaAs/InGaAs, and to 460 V/W with 9 µs for AlGaN/GaN thermopiles, respectively. Based on integrated HEMT-MEMS technology, the AlGaAs/InGaAs 3232 matrix FPAs are fabricated to demonstrate its enhanced performances by black body measurement. The technology presented here demonstrates the potential of this approach for low-cost uncooled infrared FPA image sensor application.