Infrared detectors: My scientific life

Abstract

My interest in infrared detectors began in 1970 while I was working on my master’s thesis to complete my studies in technical physics at the Military University of Technology (MUT) in Warsaw (Poland). At that time, I was developing a photoconductive detector technology based on copper-doped gallium arsenide (GaAs:Cu). Even then, it was known that semiconductor compounds with a narrow energy gap were superior to doped semiconductors for infrared detector design because of their better physical properties. Throughout the 1970s, I worked on the technology, physical properties, and characterisation of lead-tin telluride photovoltaic detectors. However, the development of HgCdTe epitaxial technologies (LPE, MOCVD, and MBE) with optimal physical properties (particularly the absorption coefficient and carrier lifetimes), and a better-matched coefficient of thermal expansion to silicon signal readout processors in hybrid infrared arrays led to the discontinuation of further work on lead-tin telluride in the 1980s. For this reason, I turned my attention to solid-solution alternatives to HgCdTe (ZnHgTe, MnHgTe) and subsequently to semiconductor solid solutions of the A^III-B^V compound group, such as InAsSb and GaSb/InAs superlattices. My scientific achievements in this field of research were the basis for receiving the Foundation for Science Award (the most prestigious scientific award in Poland) in 1997. At the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, I spearheaded the creation of a laboratory dedicated to the growth of HgCdTe epitaxial layers in partnership with Vigo System S.A. In 2003, we launched the MUT-Vigo HgCdTe MOCVD laboratory. A decade later, in 2015, I expanded our research to include second-type superlattices, specifically GaSb/InAs and InAs/InAsSb, by integrating MBE epitaxy into the joint laboratory. Over the past two decades, I have focused on a new generation of detectors based on low-dimensional solids, whose properties are governed by quantum-size effects. My contribution to this area of research focuses primarily on analysing the performance and role of the new generation of LDS photodetectors within the broad family of infrared detectors. This area of research, in turn, was honoured with the Prime Minister’s Award in 2024.