Uncooled and low-cost photoconductive MWIR detector based on nano- and micro-particles embedded PbSe thin film (Conference Presentation)

Polycrystalline lead selenide thin film has now emerged as a promising choice for low-cost and uncooled MWIR detectors and arrays operating at room temperature within the 3~5 µm wavelength range. LCDG (Laser Components Detector Groups) has successfully fabricated a new version of PbSe thin films using the chemical bath deposition (CBD) method on quartz substrates, enabling the development of infrared detectors and arrays with robust and high production yield. To achieve efficient activation of the PbSe thin film, LCDG investigates PbSe material from chemical reaction of the bath deposition to final packaging to meet various customer specifications and establishes PbSe detectors based on nano- and micro-particles embedded PbSe thin film, resulting in exceptional MWIR photoconductive response at room temperature. The characterization of PbSe thin film reveals the presence of various nanostructures, such as nano- and micro-particles as well as Pb-oxide phases and Pb-iodine phase carrier transporting channels. This paper reports the MWIR performance of the uncooled LCDG’s PbSe detector, focusing on responsivity, EQE, 1/f noise and FTIR spectral response (77K-340K), and D*.