具有变革性特征的红外光电探测器

Recent progress on advanced infrared photodetectors

现代红外光电探测技术有着近八十年的历史.从二战期间第一个可实用PbS红外探测器到第三代红外光电探测器概念的提出,红外光电探测技术经历了翻天覆地的变化.以碲镉汞、锑化铟、铟镓砷为代表的传统红外光电探测器已在军事、遥感、通信、生命科学和宇宙探索等领域发挥着至关重要的作用.随着人类对光电探测不断增长的需求,尤其近几年来在人工智能、大数据、智慧城市等方面对红外信息的探测和智能感知有着强烈的需求,大幅降低红外光电探测器的尺寸(size)、重量(weight)、功耗(power)和价格(price),以及提高探测器的性能(performance)迫在眉睫.因此,要满足上述需求,必须要寻找具有变革性特征的红外光电探测器件.当前红外探测器正处于新旧更迭的时代,一大批新型红外光电探测器涌出.本文系统地介绍了一些具有变革性特征的红外探测器前沿内容,主要包括:人工光子微结构调控的新型红外探测器、基于能带工程的红外探测器、新型低维材料红外探测器,以及传统红外探测器的新方向.最后,展望了红外光电探测未来发展面临的机遇和挑战.

Modern infrared detector technology has a history of nearly eighty years. Since the first PbS photodiode was put into use during the World War II, infrared detectors have achieved significant progress, even the thirdgeneration infrared systems have been proposed. In the past decades, the traditional infrared detectors represented by HgCdTe, InSb and InGaAs have been widely applied in military, remote sensing,communication, bioscience, and space exploration. However, the increasing applications demand higher performance infrared detectors. Especially in recent years, the intelligent infrared detection technique was strongly demanded in many high-tech fields such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality systems and smart city.Therefore, the fabricating of infrared detection systems with smaller size, lighter weight, lower power, higher performance and lower price has become an urgent task. At present, the infrared photodetectors are in an age of rapid change, and many new type of advanced infrared photodetectors come to the fore quickly. For the purpose of summarizing these detectors, they are reviewed covering four parts: microstructure coupled infrared detector, infrared detector based on band engineering, new type of low-dimensional material infrared detector,and new directions for traditional infrared detectors. In the infrared detection systems, these photodetectors can be fully used for their prominent performance. The microstructure coupled infrared detector can improve chip integration with high quantum efficiency. Precise design of band structure will raise the operating temperature for mid and long wavelenth infrared photodetectors. Owing to the unique structures and physical properties,low-dimensional material infrared photodetectors have shown their potential application value in flexibility and room temperature detection systems. The ability of avalanche photodetector to detect the extremely weak signal makes it possible using in the frontier science such as quantum private communication and threedimensional radar imaging systems. The device based on hot electron effect provides a new idea for far infrared detection. The barrier detectors will reduce the manufacturing cost of traditional materials and the design is also very illuminating for other new materials. In this review, firstly we present the history of infrared photodetectors in short. Then the mechanism and achievements of the advanced infrared photodetectors are introduced in detail. Finally, the opportunities and challenges of infrared detection are summarized and predicted.