Vision Statement

Our vision is to develop high quality, stable (Si)GeSn alloys to revolutionize infrared imaging and to answer fundamental questions that are unique to this alloy system. (Si)GeSn is a disruptive technology, which at 20% to 40% Sn, can meet DoD need for lighter, faster, higher signal-to-noise, and more energy efficient 2-5 µm infrared imaging devices at significantly lower cost.

The key enabling factors for (Si)GeSn over all current IR detector technologies include:

• Greater capability to engineer the bandgap as direct or indirect, near-to-mid IR wavelengths, impacting a broad range of applications
• Significantly lower radiative and Auger recombination  coefficients for longer carrier lifetime (>100 µs), and larger oscillator strength for higher absorption coefficient, giving a shorter carrier extraction time, lower dark current, and higher internal quantum efficiency
• Si integration with greater wafer size (8”-12”), resulting in composition uniformity, image sharpness, high resolution and large field of view, and lower cost.
• Compatibility with CMOS (metal-oxide-semiconductor) for large-scale manufacturing, utilizing state-of-the-art Si image sensor circuits on the same chip, lowering cost, and making (Si)GeSn the dominating IR detector technology

These factors emphasize that the advantage of (Si)GeSn over all IR detector technologies is much more than lower cost – (Si)GeSn can potentially beat all current technology on performance!

Team

Year 4 Research Highlights

Year 3 Research Highlights

Year 2 Research Highlights

Year 1 Research Highlights