Fabrication of Thinned QWIP Arrays for Improved Performance

Focal-plane-array (FPA) hybrids of quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) thinned to the membrane level are undergoing development. The developmental QWIPs in question are of the kind that exploit bound-to-quasi-bound absorption, as described, for example, in "Bound-to-Quasi-Bound Quantum-Well Infrared Photodetectors," which immediately follows this article. The present development encompasses both the thinned-array design and the method of fabrication.