LaF3 infrared detector

Abstract

A new class of infrared detectors is proposed and experimental results are presented for a prototype device. The material used is LaF₃, an ionic conductor with a capacitance that varies exponentially with temperature. The detectivity of a prototype detector is estimated from measured signal voltages and incident power, and a Johnson noise voltage is calculated from the measured resistance. At a modulation frequency of 20 Hz the estimated detectivity is ∼2×10⁶ cm Hz^1/2 W⁻¹. For the parameters characterizing this device, the estimated detectivity is consistent with a theoretical prediction. The theory further predicts an optimum detectivity of ∼10⁹ cm Hz^1/2 W⁻¹ for much thinner devices than the prototypes.