This book is a sequel of The Physics of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (1997), which covered the basic physics of QWIPs. In the intervening 27 years, QWIP properties pertinent to infrared detection are much better understood, and QWIP technology has become a mainstream, widely deployed infrared technology. The main progress is the ability to know the QWIP absorption quantum efficiency quantitatively through rigorous electromagnetic modeling. The lack of theoretical prediction has impeded QWIP development for a long time. Generally, an arbitrary choice of detector structures yields substantial variations of absorption properties, and QWIP was regarded as a low quantum efficiency detector. With the advent of electromagnetic modeling, quantum efficiency of any detector geometry can be known exactly and be optimized to attain a large satisfactory value. Consequently, all properties of QWIPs are predictable, not unlike prevailing silicon devices. This unique characteristic enables QWIP to be the most manufacturable long wavelength infrared technology in mass production. This book by K K Choi, a co-inventor of QWIPs, will capture this exciting development.
Based on the materials expounded in the book, the reader will know key performance metrics in infrared detection, in-depth knowledge of QWIP material and structural designs, array production, its application, and practical knowledge of electromagnetic modeling. In addition, the book will describe using micro- and nano-structures to enhance the emission properties of active and passive optical emitters, similar to detectors. The application of rigorous electromagnetic modeling to optical emitters is new to the optoelectronic community. The resonator-pixel emitter structure with its modeling method will no doubt be able to attract substantial academic and industrial attention in years to come.
Contents:
- Preface
- About the Author
- Fundamentals in Infrared Detection
- Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors
- Electromagnetics
- Corrugated-Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors
- Resonator-Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors
- Resonator-Pixel Detector and Emitter Technologies
- Remote Temperature Sensing
- Index
Readership: Reference book for graduate students, researchers, professors and engineers in the fields of infrared detection and devices and, more generally, device modelling, optics and photonics.
‘This book provides complete coverage on QWIP development with useful details that can be applied to other optical devices such as emitters and solar cells. Specifically, he delves into QWIP structural design, to focal plane array production, including pixels for new functionality, performance improvements using numerical electromagnetic modelling, as well as blackbody radiation and atmospheric transmission, ending with (remote) temperature sensing. It is well written, well organized, and insightful; hence, this book will be a useful reference not only for advanced researchers but also for graduate students who are entering the field.’ – A G Unil Perera Regents’ Professor of Physics, Georgia State University, USA
‘It would be of further interest to those in the infrared imaging industry because its content extends beyond basic QWIP device physics and into resonant device structures and plasmonic structures that may be used to enhance FLIR Imager response regardless of the semiconductor utilized. The book will find wide acceptance and I expect it to be on the bookshelf of most infrared imaging practitioners.’ – David Braddock President & Founder, OSEMI Inc., USA
‘The book starts with fundamentals in infrared photodetectors and goes all the way to multiple advanced devices such as corrugated- and resonator-QWIPs, as well as their applications. As the author is able to provide clear pictures and many details, this book is expected to be very useful for graduate students, physicists, and engineers in several disciplines from semiconductor material science and device physics to quantum engineering and optoelectronic devices.’ – Rui Q Yang Professor of Electrical Engineering, University of Oklahoma, USA
Key Features:
- First book that covers electromagnetic modeling of quantum well infrared photodetectors, as well as other detectors and emitters
- Authored by K K Choi, a co-inventor of QWIP technology