Relationship between epi-wafer photoluminescence and focal plane array performances of InGaAs detectors

The relationship between photoluminescence properties of InGaAs detector epi-wafers and the performances of focal plane arrays has been established according to the measurements of various samples. The average signal, dark signal and noise of the fabricated focal plane arrays were characterized and correlated to the photoluminescence intensities and nonuniformities of the epi-wafers. The average response signal is increased as the increased photoluminescence. The signal nonuniformity and dark signal are markedly related to nonuniformity of photoluminescence intensity, while the noise voltages are not correlated to photoluminescence results. The microwave photoconductance decay measurements reveal that the epi-wafers with stronger photoluminescence intensity has longer minority carrier lifetime. This work supplies a feasible pathway to evaluate and predict the performances of focal plane arrays fabricated by InGaAs detector epi-wafers before device processing.