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NASA NTRS1990

HgZnTe-based detectors for LWIR NASA applications

The initial goal was to grow and characterize HgZnTe and determine if it indeed had the advantageous properties that were predicted. Researchers grew both bulk and liquid phase epitaxial HgZnTe. It was determined that HgZnTe had the following properties: (1) microhardness at least 50 percent greater than HgCdTe of equivalent bandgap; (2) Hg annealing rates of at least 2 to 4 times longer than HgCdTe; and (3) higher Hg vacancy formation energies. This early work did not focus on one specific composition (x-value) of HgZnTe since NASA was interested in HgZnTe's potential for a variety of applications. Since the beginning of 1989, researchers have been concentrating, however, on the liquid phase growth of very long wavelength infrared (VLWIR) HgZnTe (cutoff approx. equals 17 microns at 65K) to address the requirements of the Earth Observing System (EOS). Since there are no device models to predict the advantages in reliability one can gain with increased microhardness, surface stability, etc., one must fabricate HgZnTe detectors and assess their relative bake stability (accelerated life test behavior) compared with HgCdTe devices fabricated in the same manner. Researchers chose to fabricate HIT detectors as a development vehicle for this program because high performance in the VLWIR has been demonstrated with HgCdTe HIT detectors and the HgCdTe HIT process should be applicable to HgZnTe. HIT detectors have a significant advantage for satellite applications since these devices dissipate much less power than conventional photoconductors to achieve the same responsivity.

Patten, Elizabeth A.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Thermal emission spectroscopy of the middle atmosphere

The general objective of this research is to obtain, via remote sensing, simultaneous measurements of the vertical distributions of stratospheric temperature, ozone, and trace constituents that participate in the catalytic destruction of ozone (NO(sub y): NO, NO2, NO3, HNO3, ClONO2, N2O5, HNO4; Cl(sub x): HOCl), and the source gases for the catalytic cycles (H2O, CH4, N2O, CF2Cl2, CFCl3, CCl4, CH3Cl, CHF2Cl, etc.). Data are collected during a complete diurnal cycle in order to test our present understanding of ozone chemistry and its associate catalytic cycles. The instrumentation employed is an emission-mode, balloon-borne, liquid-nitrogen-cooled Michelson interferometer-spectrometer (SIRIS), covering the mid-infrared range with a spectral resolution of 0.020 cm(exp -1). Cryogenic cooling combined with the use of extrinsic silicon photoconductor detectors allows the detection of weak emission features of stratospheric gaseous species. Vertical distributions of these species are inferred from scans of the thermal emission of the limb in a sequence of elevation angles. The fourth SIRIS balloon flight was carried out from Palestine, Texas on September 15-16, 1986 with 9 hours of nighttime data (40 km). High quality data with spectral resolution 0.022 cm(exp -1), were obtained for numerous limb sequences. Fifteen stratospheric species have been identified to date from this flight: five species from the NO(sub y) family (HNO3, NO2, NO, ClONO2, N2O5), plus CO2, O3, H2O, N2O, CH4, CCl3F, CCl2F2, CHF2Cl, CF4, and CCl4. The nighttime values of N2O5, ClONO2, and total odd nitrogen have been measured for the first time, and compared to model results. Analysis of the diurnal variation of N2O5 within the 1984 and 1986 data sets, and of the 1984 ClONO2 measurements, were presented in the literature. The demonstrated ability of SIRIS to measure all the major NO(sub y) species, and therefore to determine the partitioning of the nitrogen family over a continuous diurnal cycle, is a powerful tool in the verification and improvement of photochemical modeling.

Kunde, V. G.↗

NASA NTRS1983

Low background IR detector and detector array evaluations

A technology program has been underway at Ames since 1978 to develop and evaluate detectors and integrated detector arrays for low-background astronomical applications. The approach is to evaluate existing (less than 24 micron) array technology under low-background conditions, with the aim of adapting and optimizing existing devices. For longer wavelengths, where the technology is much less mature, development is sponsored and devices are evaluated, in both discrete and array formats, for eventual applications. The status of this program has been reported previously. We rely on industrial and university sources for the detectors. Typically, after a brief functionality check in the supplier's laboratory, we work with the device at Ames to characterize its low-background performance. In the case of promising arrays or detectors, we conduct ground-based telescope testing to face the problems associated with real applications. A list of devices tested at Ames is given. In the array category, accumulation-mode charge-injection-devices (AMCIDs) appear repeatedly; this reflects our recent experience with the 2 x 64 and 16 x 16 arrays. Results from the 1 x 16 CID and InSb CCD have been reported. The status of our tests of the discrete Ge:x detectors from Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory are described below. Tests of a 1 x 2 switched sample photoconductor array are just beginning. A 32-channel CMOS multiplexer has been tested at 10 K. Low-temperature silicon MOSFETs and germanium JFETs have also been tested, primarily at Ball Aerospace. This paper describes results to date on three elements of this program: AMCID array, discrete Ge:Ga detectors, and Ge JFET preamplifiers.

Goebel, J. H.↗

NASA NTRS1994

New directions in phthalocyanine pigments

Phthalocyanines have been used as a pigment in coatings and related applications for many years. These pigments are some of the most stable organic pigments known. The phthalo blue and green pigments have been known to be ultraviolet (UV) stable and thermally stable to over 400 C. These phthalocyanines are both a semiconductor and photoconductor, exhibiting catalytic activity and photostabilization capability of polymers. Many metal free and metallic phthalocyanine derivatives have been prepared. Development of the new classes of phthalocyanine pigment could be used as coating on NASA spacecraft material such as glass to decrease the optical degradation from UV light, the outside of the space station modules for UV protection, and coating on solar cells to increase lifetime and efficiency.

Trinh, Diep VO↗

NASA NTRS1994

IBC arrays: Present and future prospects

The development of arrays which operate at wavelengths longer than 8 micrometers has opened up new possibilities for imaging and spectroscopy but offers challenges not present at shorter wavelengths. Impurity Band Conduction (IBC) or Blocked-Impurity-Band (BIB) detectors can meet these challenges and offer numerous advantages over standard photoconductors. We review some of the general operating principles of these devices and discuss the current state of technology. We then discuss the requirements placed on mid-infrared arrays by groundbased, airborne and spacebased astronomy.

Herter, Terry↗

NASA NTRS1997

Director's Discretionary Fund Report for Fiscal Year 1996

Topics covered include: Waterproofing the Space Shuttle tiles, thermal protection system for Reusable Launch Vehicles, computer modeling of the thermal conductivity of cometary ice, effects of ozone depletion and ultraviolet radiation on plants, a novel telemetric biosensor to monitor blood pH on-line, ion mobility in polymer electrolytes for lithium-polymer batteries, a microwave-pumped far infrared photoconductor, and a new method for measuring cloud liquid vapor using near infrared remote sensing. Also included: laser-spectroscopic instrument for turbulence measurement, remote sensing of aircraft contrails using a field portable imaging interferometer, development of a silicon-micromachined gas chromatography system for determination of planetary surface composition, planar Doppler velocimetry, chaos in interstellar chemistry, and a limited pressure cycle engine for high-speed output.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS1998

Advanced far infrared blocked impurity band detectors based on germanium liquid phase epitaxy

This research has shown that epilayers with residual impurity concentrations of 5 x 10(sup 13) cm(exp -3) can be grown by producing the purest Pb available in the world. These epilayers have extremely low minority acceptor concentrations, which is ideal for fabrication of IR absorbing layers. The Pb LPE growth of Ge also has the advantageous property of gettering Cu from the epilayer and the substrate. Epilayers have been grown with intentional Sb doping for IR absorption on lightly doped substrates. This research has proven that properly working Ge BIB detectors can be fabricated from the liquid phase as long as pure enough solvents are available. The detectors have responded at reach minimum wavenumbers. Optimization of the Sb doping concentration should further decrease the photoionization energy of these detectors. Ge BIB detectors have been fabricated that respond to 60 cm(exp -1) with low responsivity. Through reduction of the minority residual impurities, detector performance has reached responsivities of 1 A/W. These detectors have exhibited quantum efficiency and NEP values that rival conventional photoconductors and are expected to provide a much more sensitive tool for new scientific discoveries in a number of fields, including solid state studies, astronomy, and cosmology.

Olsen, C. S.↗

NASA NTRS2000

Ground-Based Measurements of Stratospheric Composition from Mt. Barcroft, California

The MkIV is an FTIR spectrometer designed and built at JPL in the 1980's for remote sensing the composition of the Earth's atmosphere by solar absorption spectrometry. Optically, MkIV is very similar to the JPL ATMOS instrument, which flew three times on the Space Shuttle. Both use double-passed configurations with a KBr beamsplitter and compensator, in order to cover the mid-infrared. The main advantage of the MkIV is that it uses two detectors in parallel, a HgCdTe photoconductor for the long wavelengths and an InSb photodiode for the short wavelengths, allowing the entire 650 to 5650/cm region to be measured simultaneously. At a 10 kHz sampling rate, each 130 cm OPD interferogram takes 3 minutes to acquire. This paper describes how the MkIV instrument was adapted for remote operation from the Barcroft site, where the harsh winter conditions make access difficult. Some of the main technical challenges will be discussed including, (i) operation from solar panels and batteries, (ii) cooling the detectors with LN2, (iii) instrument control and monitoring over a cellular phone, and (iv) data storage, processing and analysis. Finally, MkIV spectra measured from Barcroft are compared with those measured from JPL to highlight the advantages of the higher altitude site.

Toon, G. C.↗

NASA NTRS2001

Development of Low-Noise High Value Chromium Silicide Resistors for Cryogenic Detector Applications

Extremely high sensitivity detectors, such as silicon bolometers are required in many NASA missions for detection of photons from the x-ray to the far infrared regions. Typically, these detectors are cooled to well below the liquid helium (LHe) temperature (4.2 K) to achieve the maximum detection performance. As photoconductors, they are generally operated with a load resistor and a pre-set bias voltage, which is then coupled to the input gate of a source-follower Field Effect Transistor (FET) circuit. It is imperative that the detector system signal to noise performance be limited by the noise of the detector and not by the noise of the external components. The load resistor value is selected to optimize the detector performance. These two criteria tend to be contradictory in that these detectors require load resistors in the hundreds of megaohms, which leads to a higher Johnson noise. Additionally, the physical size of the resistor must be small for device integration as required by such missions as the NASA High Resolution Airborne Wide-Band Camera (HAWC) instrument and the Submillimeter High Angular Resolution Camera (SHARC) for the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory (CSO). We have designed, fabricated and characterized thin film resistors using a CrSi/TiW/Al metal system on optical quality quartz substrates. The resistor values range from 100 megaohms to over 650 megaohms and are Johnson noise limited at LHe temperatures. The resistor film is sputtered with a sheet resistance ranging from 300 ohms to 1600 ohms and the processing sequence developed for these devices allows for chemically fine tuning the sheet resistance in-situ. The wafer fabrication process was of sufficiently high yield (>80%) providing clusters of good resistors for integrated multiple detector channels, a very important feature in the assembly of these two instruments.

Jhabvala, Murzy↗

NASA NTRS2002

The Development of a 30-125 Micron Array for Airborne Astronomy

The development of a 30-125 micron Ge:Sb photoconductor array for AIRES (Airborne Infra-Red Echelle Spectrometer) is described. The prototype array is a 2x24 module which can be close-stacked to provide larger two-dimensional formats. Light is focused onto each detector using a collecting cone with a 2 mm pitch. The array is read out by two Raytheon SBRC-190 cryogenic multiplexers that also provide a CTIA (capacitive transimpedance amplifier) unit cell for each detector. We discuss our results from a test series conducted to measure the array performance and to evaluate its suitability for airborne astronomy.

Mason, C. G.↗

NASA NTRS2002

The Development of a 30-125 Micron Array for Airborne Astronomy

Mason, C. G.↗

NASA NTRS2004

Large Format Arrays for Far Infrared and Millimeter Astronomy

Some of the most compelling questions in modem astronomy are best addressed with submillimeter and millimeter observations. The question of the role of inflation in the early evolution of the universe is best addressed with large sensitive arrays of millimeter polarimeters. The study of the first generations of galaxies requires sensitive submillimeter imaging, which can help us to understand the history of energy release and nucleosynthesis in the universe. Our ability to address these questions is dramatically increasing, driven by dramatic steps in the sensitivity and size of available detector arrays. While the MIPS instrument on the SIRTF mission will revolutionize far infrared astronomy with its 1024 element array of photoconductors, thermal detectors remain the dominant technology for submillimeter and millimeter imaging and polarimetry. The last decade has seen the deployment of increasingly large arrays of bolometers, ranging from the 48 element arrays deployed on the KAO in the late 198Os, to the SHARC and SCUBA arrays in the 1990s. The past years have seen the deployment of a new generation of larger detector arrays in SHARC II (384 channels) and Bolocam (144 channels). These detectors are in operation and are beginning to make significant impacts on the field. Arrays of sensitive submillimeter bolometers on the SPIRE instrument on Herschel will allow the first large areas surveys of the sky, providing important insight into the evolution of galaxies. The next generation of detectors, led by SCUBA II, will increase the focal scale of these instruments by an order of magnitude. Two major missions are being planned by NASA for which further development of long wavelength detectors is essential, The SAFlR mission, a 10-m class telescope with large arrays of background limited detectors, will extend our reach into the epoch of initial galaxy formation. A major goal of modem cosmology is to test the inflationary paradigm in the early evolution of the universe. To this end, a mission is planned to detect the imprint of inflation on the CMB by precision measurement of its polarization. This work requires very large arrays of sensitive detectors which can provide unprecedented control of a wide range of systematic errors, given the small amplitude of the signal of interest. We will describe the current state of large format detector arrays, the performance requirements set by the new missions, and the different approaches being developed in the community to meet these requirements. We are confident that within a decade, these developments will lead to dramatic advances in our understanding of the evolution of the universe.

Moseley, Harvey↗

NASA NTRS1998

Simultaneous amplification of terahertz difference frequencies by an injection-seeded semiconductor laser amplifier at 850 nm

Two-frequency operation of an 850 nm semiconductor optical amplifier was achieved by simultaneously injection seeding it with two diode lasers. The two frequencies could be independently amplified without strong interference when they were separated by more than 10 GHz, and the spectral purity was preserved by the amplification process. At frequency differences below 10 GHz, unbalanced two-frequency output was observed, which can be explained by a two-mode interaction driven by the refractive index modulation at the beat frequency. The laser system is suitable for the difference-frequency generation of coherent terahertz radiation in ultra-fast photoconductors or nonlinear optical media.

NASA Discipline Exobiology↗

NASA NTRS1979

Heterojunction semiconductor device

A layer of germanium on a body of P type conductivity single crystal indium phosphide provides a blocking heterojunction. This device will emit light when a suitable voltage is placed thereacross or the device can be used as a photoconductor to generate electrons when light is directed thereon.

Harwylo, Frank Z.↗

NASA NTRS2001