PHOTORESPONSE OF LOW-BACKGROUND EXTRINSIC INFRARED DETECTOR ARRAYS

The operation of low-background IR extrinsic photoconductor detectors and detector arrays is essentially dependent on the process of spreadi ng time-dependent photocurrent, which is due to low non-steady-state s creening of the electric charges in the detectors. The spreading leads to an increase in the photoresponse time, an essential difference bet ween the non-steady-state photocurrents in the circuits of the source contacts injecting free-charge carriers into the detectors and those i n the circuits of the contacts that serve as drains for the carriers, and a high non-steady-state cross talk in the detector arrays. The res ults of the experimental study of ail these effects and some others in 36- and 48-element linear arrays (Si:Ga) as well as their theoretical description are presented. The theory developed is in satisfactory ag reement with the experimental data. Some consequences of the results o btained, which are important in space-based astronomy applications of such detectors, are discussed.