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Innovative HgCdTe (MCT) Photovoltaic Detector

Photovoltaic detectors (photodiodes) are semiconductor structures with one (PV) or multiple (PVM) , homo- or heterojunctions. Absorbed photons produce charge carriers that are collected at the contacts, resulting in external photocurrent. Photodiodes have complex current voltage characteristics.

The devices can operate either at flicker-free zero bias or with reverse voltage. Reverse bias voltage is frequently applied to increase responsivity, differential resistance, reduce the shot noise, improve high frequency performance and increase the dynamic range.

Engineering samples

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Image

Name

Cooling

Immersion

Peak wavelength

?

\(λ_{peak}\); \(µm\)

Detectivity

?

\(D*(λ_{peak})\); \(cm⋅Hz^{1/2}/W\)

Time constant

?

τ, ns

Package

Datasheet

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.4±0.2

Detectivity

~3.55×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

~177

Package

TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.4±0.2

Detectivity

~1.45×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

~570

Package

TO39

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Filter results

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Image

Name

Cooling

Immersion

Optimal wavelength

?

\(λ_{opt}\); \(µm\)

Detectivity

?

\(D*(λ_{opt})\); \(cm⋅Hz^{1/2}/W\)

Time constant

?

τ, ns

Package

Datasheet

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 150

Package

TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 150

Package

TO39

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{7}\)

Time constant

≤ 1.5

Package

TO39

Filter results

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All HgCdTe (MCT) Photovoltaic Detectors

Filter results

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Image

Name

Cooling

Immersion

Optimal wavelength

?

\(λ_{opt}\); \(µm\)

Detectivity

?

\(D*(λ_{opt})\); \(cm⋅Hz^{1/2}/W\)

Time constant

?

τ, ns

Package

Datasheet

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 6.5×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 350

Package

BNC, TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 5.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 260

Package

BNC, TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 150

Package

BNC, TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 120

Package

BNC, TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 5.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤80

Package

BNC, TO39

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 7.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 9.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 10

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 7.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.5×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 10

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.5×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 6.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.5×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 5.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 25

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 5.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 350

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 4.5×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 260

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 150

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 9.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 120

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 5.5×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 6.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 10

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 7.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 5.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 8.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.5×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 10

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.0

Detectivity

≥ 8.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 280

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

3.4

Detectivity

≥ 7.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 200

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

4.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 100

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

5.0

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{11}\)

Time constant

≤ 80

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

6.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{10}\)

Time constant

≤ 50

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 4.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 45

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 25

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 6.5×10\(^{7}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{7}\)

Time constant

≤ 1.5

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 3

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 1.5

Package

TO39, BNC

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 2.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

2TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 3

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 3.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

3TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.5×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 3

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

8.0

Detectivity

≥ 6.0×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 4

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

4TE

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 2.5×10\(^{9}\)

Time constant

≤ 3

Package

TO8, TO66

Cooling

no

Immersion

no

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{7}\)

Time constant

≤ 1.2

Package

PEM-SMA, PEM-TO8

Cooling

no

Immersion

yes

Wavelength

10.6

Detectivity

≥ 1.0×10\(^{8}\)

Time constant

≤ 1.2

Package

PEM-SMA, PEM-TO8

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FAQ

In this section, you can read about the most frequently asked questions and answers about VIGO Photonics products.

What is an MCT detector, and how does it work?

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MCT detector is an infrared detector with tunable bandgap in which the detection structure is made of mercury, cadmium and telluride, also known as the HgCdTe detector. It is a semiconductor electro-optical device that converts infrared radiation into an electrical signal.

What are the advantages of using HgCdTe detectors in various applications?

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HgCdTe detectors show superior detectivity, in some cases approaching theoretical limits of detection. Additionally, very short time constants allow measurements with very high temporal resolution. Combination of those two features helps achieve best possible results in a variety of applications.

How does an MCT photodiode differ from a regular photodiode?

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MCT photodiodes are crafted to work best for a specific wavelength, ranging between 1 and 16 um, often at background-limited detectivity – meaning that they are the best solution for MWIR and LWIR detection.

What types of applications are MCT detectors and photovoltaic sensors suitable for?

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The high performance of our detectors makes them suitable for a wide range of applications. The key applications our detectors are primarily utilized for include gas sensing and analysis, railway transport safety, environmental monitoring, as well as in security and defense applications like heat seeking.

Can you explain the technology behind VIGO Photonics’ advanced MCT detectors and photovoltaic sensors?

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At VIGO Photonics, the optical immersion is created directly with the use of the substrate on which the active layer of the detector is placed. This means the lens is an integral part of the device – no adhesives or other joints that could generate losses are used for its fabrication. A monolithic lens does not need to be aligned by the customer in any way, and it reaches its maximum efficiency already during the manufacturing process.

For more information please visit our website: https://vigophotonics.com/articles/immersion-lenses-technology/

What is the sensitivity range of VIGO Photonics’ MCT detectors and photovoltaic sensors?

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Our detectors are optimized for MWIR (3-8μm) and LWIR (8-16μm) spectral ranges, however the specific wavelength range that detectors can cover depends on the type of detector. For more precise and up-to-date information, you should refer to the product specifications you can find on our website.

Are VIGO Photonics’ detectors and sensors customizable for specific applications?

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While we offer a diverse selection to cover most common applications, we understand that some applications may require a more specialized solution. If you have a very specific application that requires unique specifications not found in our current catalog, we can manufacture custom products matching your requirements. Please feel free to reach out to our sales team to initiate a discussion about your specific requirements.

How reliable and durable are MCT detectors and photovoltaic sensors in different environmental conditions?

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Our devices can operate in the 10% to 80% humidity, in the –20°C to +30°C ambient temperature range. Operation at >30°C ambient may reduce performance for standard Peltier coolers. Ask for devices that can operate in the +30°C to +80°C ambient temperature range.

What support and technical assistance does VIGO Photonics provide for integrating MCT detectors and photovoltaic sensors into new or existing systems?

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Our application engineers are ready to provide a beginning-to-end support in integration of our products, starting from application advice and sample delivery, to help in analysis of your results, tailored electronics to cooperate with the detector and industrialization of the final product.

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