Type-II superlattice detectors at IRnova from MWIR to eSWIR SWaP solutions

Type-II superlattice (T2SL) technology is an ultimate solution for infrared imaging, thanks to its high performance, good uniformity and excellent long-term stability. Following the success of IRnova’s midwave infrared (MWIR, 3-5 μm) T2SL SWaP detectors, IRnova is now expanding the detection range into the extended SWIR region (eSWIR, 1-3 μm wavelength range), targeting cut-off wavelengths of 2.5 μm and 200K operating temperatures. Manufactured VGA format (640×512, 15 μm pitch) eSWIR T2SL detectors demonstrate excellent uniformity, low dark current density (⪅0.1 μA/cm2 at 200K) and high absorption QE (⪆80%). When integrating these eSWIR FPAs in thermoelectrically cooled cameras (200K operating temperature), state-of-the-art imaging quality has been demonstrated thanks to their high uniformity and capability to resolve very fine features (modulation transfer function ⪆ 60% at Nyquist frequency). Furthermore, the initial results from the large-format eSWIR T2SL detectors (2048×512 pixels on 15 µm pitch), tailored for future Earth observation space missions within the EU project STEP, will be presented.