The predicted ‘Law 19’ benchmark for HgCdTe photodiode performance established in 2019 is a milestone in the development of infrared (IR) detectors and make the dream of Elliott and colleagues, who in 1999 wrote that there is no fundamental obstacle to obtaining room temperature operation of photon detectors at room temperature with background-limited performance even in reduced fields of view (Elliott et al 1999 Appl. Phys. Lett. 74 2881). This circumstance will make it possible to achieve in the near future the room-temperature IR arrays operation with high pixel density (small pixels) fully compatible with the background and diffraction-limited performance resulting from the system optics. The advent of smaller pixels also results in superior spatial and temperature resolutions of imaging systems. In megapixel imaging systems, the pixel dimension plays a crucial role in determining critical system attributes such as system size, weight, and power consumption. In the paper, the physical limitations of pixel size related to the aperture of the optics, which in turn is wavelength dependent, are described. Since the critical parameter of small pixels is quantum efficiency, more attention has been paid to enhancing the coupling of radiation to the detector. Then, the evaluation for assessing the figure-of-merit of different material systems (especially short wavelength IR colloidal quantum dots, both medium and long wavelength IR novel III–V material systems) relative to bulk HgCdTe alloys is considered. Of the various thermal detectors, particular attention has been focussed on bolometer arrays due to their largest share of the global commercial market. Also key challenges in realizing ultimate pixel dimensions in focal plane arrays design are presented for different material systems including dark current, pixel hybridization, pixel delineation, and unit cell readout capacity.

中文翻译：

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缩放红外探测器——现状与展望

预计于 2019 年建立的 HgCdTe 光电二极管性能的“第 19 条定律”基准是红外 (IR) 探测器发展的一个里程碑，实现了 Elliott 及其同事的梦想，他们在 1999 年写道即使在缩小的视野中，在室温下获得具有背景限制性能的光子探测器的室温操作也没有根本性障碍（埃利奥特等人1999申请 物理。莱特.742881）。这种情况将使在不久的将来实现具有与背景完全兼容的高像素密度（小像素）和系统光学产生的衍射极限性能的室温红外阵列操作成为可能。更小像素的出现还导致成像系统具有更高的空间和温度分辨率。在百万像素成像系统中，像素尺寸在确定系统尺寸、重量和功耗等关键系统属性方面起着至关重要的作用。在本文中，描述了与光学孔径相关的像素尺寸的物理限制，而光学孔径又取决于波长。由于小像素的关键参数是量子效率，因此人们更加关注增强辐射与探测器的耦合。然后，考虑了评估不同材料系统（尤其是短波红外胶体量子点、中波和长波红外新型 III-V 材料系统）相对于块状 HgCdTe 合金的品质因数的评估。在各种热探测器中，由于测辐射热计阵列在全球商业市场中的份额最大，因此受到了特别的关注。还针对不同的材料系统提出了在焦平面阵列设计中实现最终像素尺寸的关键挑战，包括暗电流、像素混合、像素描绘和单位单元读出容量。在各种热探测器中，由于测辐射热计阵列在全球商业市场中的份额最大，因此受到了特别的关注。还针对不同的材料系统提出了在焦平面阵列设计中实现最终像素尺寸的关键挑战，包括暗电流、像素混合、像素描绘和单位单元读出容量。在各种热探测器中，由于测辐射热计阵列在全球商业市场中的份额最大，因此受到了特别的关注。还针对不同的材料系统提出了在焦平面阵列设计中实现最终像素尺寸的关键挑战，包括暗电流、像素混合、像素描绘和单位单元读出容量。