Infrared technologies are very important for a wide range of military, scientific and commercial applications. Devices and systems based on semiconductor heterostructure and quantum well and quantum dot structures open up a new era in infrared technologies.This book deals with various topics related to the latest achievements in the development of intersubband infrared photodetectors, reviewed by top experts in the field. It covers physical aspects of the operation of the devices as well as details of their design in different applications. The papers included in the book will be useful for researchers and engineers interested in the physics of optoelectronic devices as well as their practical design and applications.

Infrared technologies are very important for a wide range of military, scientific and commercial applications. Devices and systems based on semiconductor heterostructure and quantum well and quantum dot structures open up a new era in infrared technologies.This book deals with various topics related to the latest achievements in the development of intersubband infrared photodetectors, reviewed by top experts in the field. It covers physical aspects of the operation of the devices as well as details of their design in different applications. The papers included in the book will be useful for researchers and engineers interested in the physics of optoelectronic devices as well as their practical design and applications.

Addressed to both students as a learning text and scientists/engineers as a reference, this book discusses the physics and applications of quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs). It is assumed that the reader has a basic background in quantum mechanics, solid-state physics, and semiconductor devices. To make this book as widely accessible as possible, the treatment and presentation of the materials is simple and straightforward. The topics for the book were chosen by the following criteria: they must be well-established and understood; and they should have been, or potentially will be, used in practical applications. The monograph discusses most aspects relevant for the field but omits, at the same time, detailed discussions of specialized topics such as the valence-band quantum wells.

In the past, infrared imaging has been used exclusively for military applications. In fact, it can also be useful in a wide range of scientific and commercial applications. However, its wide spread use was impeded by the scarcity of the imaging systems and its high cost. Recently, there is an emerging infrared technology based on quantum well intersubband transition in III-V compound semiconductors. With the new technology, these impedances can be eliminated and a new era of infrared imaging is in sight. This book is designed to give a systematic description on the underlying physics of the new detectors and other issues related to infrared imaging.

Completely revised and reorganized while retaining the approachable style of the first edition, Infrared Detectors, Second Edition addresses the latest developments in the science and technology of infrared (IR) detection. Antoni Rogalski, an internationally recognized pioneer in the field, covers the comprehensive range of subjects necessary to un

Advances in epitaxial growth and nanofabrication technology in the past several years have made it possible to engineer sophisticated semiconductor quantum devices with unprecedented control of their electronic and optical properties. A particularly important class of such devices is based on intersubband transitions, i.e. optical transitions between quantized electronic states in semiconductor heterostructures. Most notably, mid-infrared quantum-well infrared photodetectors (QWIPs) and quantum cascade lasers nowadays offer superior performance for applications such as thermal imaging, spectroscopy, and biochemical sensing, and have recently become commercially available. Intersubband devices also have the potential for a revolutionary impact in the fields of silicon photonics, terahertz sensing, and ultra-high-bandwidth fiber-optic communications, and extensive research is ongoing to fulfill this promise. Joined by an international group of world experts, Paiella describes the basic device physics and applications of intersubband transitions, as well as the more recent and important developments in this exciting area of semiconductor nanotechnology.

Intersubband transitions in quantum wells have attracted tremendous attention in recent years, mainly due to the promise of applications in the mid and far-infrared regions (2--20 mum). Many of the papers presented in Quantum Well Intersubband Transition Physics and Devices are on the basic linear intersubband transition processes, detector physics and detector application, reflecting the current state of understanding and detector applications, where highly uniform, large focal plane arrays have been demonstrated. Other areas are still in their early stages, including infrared modulation, harmonic generation and emission.

The International Workshop on "Intersubband Transitions in Quantum Wells:: Physics and Applications," was held at National Cheng Kung University, in Tainan, Taiwan, December 15-18, 1997. The objective of the Workshop is to facilitate the presentation and discussion of the recent results in theoretical, experimental, and applied aspects of intersubband transitions in quantum wells and dots. The program followed the tradition initiated at the 1991 conference in Cargese-France, the 1993 conference in Whistler, B. C. Canada, and the 1995 conference in Kibbutz Ginosar, Israel. Intersubband transitions in quantum wells and quantum dots have attracted considerable attention in recent years, mainly due to the promise of various applications in the mid- and far-infrared regions (2-30 J. lm). Over 40 invited and contributed papers were presented in this four-day workshop, with topics covered most aspects of the intersubband transition phenomena including: the basic intersubband transition processes, multiquantum well infrared photodetector (QWIP) physics, large format (640x480) GaAs QWIP (with 9. 0 J. lffi cutoff) focal plane arrays (FPAs) for IR imaging camera applications, infrared modulation, intersubband emission including mid- and long- wavelength quantum cascade (QC) lasers such as short (A. "" 3. 4 J. lm) and long (A. "" 11. 5 J. lm) wavelength room temperature QC lasers, quantum fountain intersubband laser at 15. 5 J. lm wavelength in GaAs/AIGaAs quantum well, harmonic generation and nonlinear effects, ultra-fast phenomena such as terahertz (THz) intersubband emission and detection. The book divides into five Chapters.

This book is a sequel of The Physics of Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors (1997), which covered the basic physics of QWIPs. In the intervening 27 years, QWIP properties pertinent to infrared detection are much better understood, and QWIP technology has become a mainstream, widely deployed infrared technology. The main progress is the ability to know the QWIP absorption quantum efficiency quantitatively through rigorous electromagnetic modeling. The lack of theoretical prediction has impeded QWIP development for a long time. Generally, an arbitrary choice of detector structures yields substantial variations of absorption properties, and QWIP was regarded as a low quantum efficiency detector. With the advent of electromagnetic modeling, quantum efficiency of any detector geometry can be known exactly and be optimized to attain a large satisfactory value. Consequently, all properties of QWIPs are predictable, not unlike prevailing silicon devices. This unique characteristic enables QWIP to be the most manufacturable long wavelength infrared technology in mass production. This book by K K Choi, a co-inventor of QWIPs, will capture this exciting development.Based on the materials expounded in the book, the reader will know key performance metrics in infrared detection, in-depth knowledge of QWIP material and structural designs, array production, its application, and practical knowledge of electromagnetic modeling. In addition, the book will describe using micro- and nano-structures to enhance the emission properties of active and passive optical emitters, similar to detectors. The application of rigorous electromagnetic modeling to optical emitters is new to the optoelectronic community. The resonator-pixel emitter structure with its modeling method will no doubt be able to attract substantial academic and industrial attention in years to come.