Development of a New Infrared Detector Based on Parametric Amplifications

摘要

A novel means to detect long wavelength infrared signals using parametricamplification has been investigated. The new concept takes advantage of the large gains affordable with parametric amplifiers coupled with the superior uniformity and producibility characteristics of GaAs technologies. The detectors are expected to exhibit a gain in responsivity in excess of 2000 with detectivities greater than 10(13). Research has been performed to investigate the feasibility of this concept. The responsivity and noise of the detectors has been modeled as a function of the physical dimensions and properties of the semiconductor materials chosen. The applicability of this concept to other wavelengths has been explored.