Long wavelength infrared GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well infrared photodetectors for 630x512 focal plane array camera systems with 20 mK NETD

Photoconductive GaAs/AlGaAs quantum well infrared photodetectors are investigated for the fabrication of IR cameras for thermal imaging in the third atmospheric window. The long wavelength infrared camera consists of a two-dimensional focal-plane array with 640 x 512 detector elements which is flip-chip bonded to a read-out integrated circuit. The technology for the fabrication of the focal-plane arrays, electrical and optical properties of single detector elements in the two-dimensional arrangement and the properties of the camera system are reported. The camera shows excellent spatial resolution with a noise equivalent temperature difference below 20 mK at an operation temperature of T = 60 K.