High-Performance HgCdTe Detectors for Remote Sensing: Part 2

The split-geometry design for arrays of photoconductive HgCdTe infrared photodetectors described in the preceding article can also be used to mitigate the deleterious effect of a phenomenon called "sweepout," which degrades performance. Sweepout occurs in conventional small HgCdTe photodetectors operated at high bias voltages; it causes undesired recombination of minority charge carriers at metal/semiconductor interfaces.