Development of III-Nitride UV Detectors--Avyd Devices, Inc., 2925 College Avenue, Unit A-1, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; 714-751-8553
Dr. Honnavalli R. Vydyanath, Principal Investigator
Dr. Honnavalli R. Vydyanath, Business Official
DOE Grant No. DE-FG03-99ER82748
Amount: $749,961

High sensitivity, ultraviolet (UV) detectors for radiometric instrumentation are needed to monitor atmospheric chemical composition changes. This project will develop technology for lll-nitride based UV detectors with extremely high sensitivity and very efficient rejection of the longer wavelength radiation. In Phase I, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) was used to grow p-i-n structures on sapphire substrates upon which GaN buffer layers had been grown using metal oxide chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). The p-i-n devices were tested and a more efficient rejection of longer wavelength radiation was demonstrated in these structures compared to others with no MOCVD-grown GaN buffer layers. Phase II will optimize the approach and demonstrate multiplexed p-i-n detector arrays (256 x 256) with high reproducibility. The detectors will have response times on the order of a nanosecond or less, detectivity greater than 10¹² watt^-1, or noise-equivalent-power less than1 picowatt (pW) for 1Hz bandwidth and UV/visible rejection ratio of 10⁶ or higher at room temperature.

Commercial Applications and Other Benefits as described by the awardee: Applications include missile plume detection for military use, environmental monitoring, automobile engine
combustion sensing, remote sensing of earth resources, solar astronomy and burner monitoring in gas turbines.