SBIR Phase II: Photon-Assisted Hydrogenation Process Technology for Manufacturability and Improved Operability of HgCdTe Infrared Detectors

该二期小企业创新研究项目将提供一种创新的氢钝化技术，以提高碲化氢红外探测器的可制造性和性能。光子辅助氢化（PAH）通过同时暴露于氢气和紫外线（UV）光使基材氢化，从而使氢扩散到基材中并成为基材的永久部分。在第一阶段，证明了多环芳烃在大面积硅片上制造高性能近红外碲化镉雪崩光电二极管（APD）阵列的可行性。在第二阶段，PAH将被优化用于从各种来源制造HgCdTe红外传感器。PAH工艺不仅将创造高性能HgCdTe/ si基apd的新产品线，而且还可能为所有基于HgCdTe的探测器制造商提供一种显着提高产量的手段，从而降低成本。PAH技术将使所有HgCdTe红外器件制造商能够在硅晶圆上生长，显着降低这些高价值系统的成本，并使它们更广泛地用于目前难以负担的应用，包括民用运输，航空，医疗和机器人视觉系统。该技术的衍生物可应用于需要钝化以减轻缺陷的各种其他光电半导体器件的制造。

This Phase II Small Business Innovation Research project will deliver an innovative hydrogen passivation technique for improving manufacturability and performance of HgCdTe infrared detectors. Photon-Assisted Hydrogenation (PAH) causes the substrate to be hydrogenated by simultaneous exposure to hydrogen gas and ultra-violet (UV) light which allows hydrogen to diffuse into and become a permanent part of the substrate. In Phase I the feasibility of PAH for the fabrication of high-performance near-infrared HgCdTe avalanche photodiode (APD) arrays on large-area silicon wafers was demonstrated. In Phase II PAH will be optimized for fabrication of HgCdTe infrared sensors from a variety of sources.The PAH process will not only create a new product line of high-performance HgCdTe/Si-based APDs, but may also provide a means to effect significantly higher yields, and thus lower costs for all manufacturers of HgCdTe-based detectors. PAH technology will enable all HgCdTe infrared device manufacturers to grow on Silicon wafers, significantly reducing the cost of these high value systems, and making them more generally available for a broad range of currently unaffordable applications, including civil transport, aviation, medical and robotic vision systems. Derivatives of the this technique may be applied to the manufacture of a variety of other optoelectronic semiconductor devices requiring passivation to mitigate defects.