Peculiarities of high power infrared detection on narrow-gap semiconductor p-n junctions

Abstract

We report on experimental results of photosignal investigation in HgCdTe, InSb and PbTe semiconductor p-n junctions under the action of an intense pulsed CO2 laser. The influence of laser power, external bias voltage as well as the diode temperature on the photosignal formation has been studied. We show that under certain conditions both classical photovoltaic and hot carrier phenomena may act simultaneously within a junction thus strongly impacting on responsivity and speed of operation of the device. The drawn conclusions may be of great importance for the development of high power optoelectronic devices.