Mechanism on failure of cooled infrared detector illuminated by CW laser

• The dominant failure pattern found experimentally on the cooled infrared detector illuminated by CW laser . • Three-dimensional numerical model established on thermo-mechanical responses of the detector to laser illumination . • Mechanism on the failure of the detector by laser illumination revealed. • Parameter dependence of damage behavior of the detector by laser illumination demonstrated. Cooled infrared detectors with high sensitivity and high performance are widely applied in many fields. However, environmental disturbances such as intense light may cause a decline in their performance and even lead to permanent damage. In this study, the multi-physical behaviors and the performance degradation processes of typical cooled infrared detectors under the illumination of high-power density lasers are investigated to evaluate their survivability under extreme conditions. The experimental results reveal the electrical and thermomechanical responses of the detectors under the illumination of continuous-wave lasers, and the main thermomechanical failure modes that have not been revealed before are discovered. The theoretical results obtained through a newly established three-dimensional multi-physical numerical model of the detectors under laser illumination clarify the thermomechanical mechanism of the failure of the main components of the detectors. Moreover, the dependence of the thermomechanical results on relevant parameters is discussed, providing a scientific basis for the development and optimization of related systems.