Abstract

The idea of using multi-quantum well (MQW) structures to detect infrared radiation can be explained by using the basic principles of quantum mechanics. The quantum well is equivalent to the well known particle in a box problem in quantum mechanics, which can be solved by the time independent Schrodinger equation. Solutions to this problem involve the Eigen-values that describe the energy levels inside the quantum well in which the particle is allowed to exist. The position of the energy levels is primarily determined by the quantum well dimensions such as height and width. The chapter discusses quantum well infrared photodetectors (QWIP) that utilize the photo excitation of the electron (hole) between the ground state and the first excited state in the conduction band quantum well. The quantum well structure is designed so that these photo-excited carriers can escape from the quantum well and be collected as photocurrent. In addition to larger intersub-band oscillator strength, these detectors afford greater flexibility than extrinsically doped semiconductor infrared detectors because the wavelength of the peak response and cutoff can be continuously tailored by varying layer thickness and barrier composition.

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