Carbon-based nanostructures including nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene have superior electronic, optoelectronic and mechanical properties, which provide fresh opportunities for designs of novel devices of extraordinary performance in addition to the benefits of low cost, large abundance, and light weight. In this work, a comparative study of two types of uncooled infrared detectors based single-wall as well as multi-wall CNTs and their hybrids with graphene or polymer is presented. One is bolometer in which excitons dissociate via interactions with the phonons on the CNTs. The other implements built-in voltage at the hybrid interface between CNTs and graphene (or polymer) to assist exciton dissociation for photoconductivity. The difference in exciton dissociation has been found to directly affect the device performance such as responsivity and detectivity. This investigation aims at understanding the fundamental physics governing exciton dissociation and charge as well as phonon transport at nanoscales and its impact on the device performance in these CNT-based infrared detectors.

Date Published: 1 November 2013
PDF: 9 pages
Proc. SPIE 8868, Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications III, 886809 (1 November 2013); doi: 10.1117/12.2035587

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 8868:
Infrared Sensors, Devices, and Applications III
Paul D. LeVan; Ashok K. Sood; Priyalal S. Wijewarnasuriya; Arvind I. D'Souza, Editor(s)