Negative luminescence from mid-wave infrared HgCdTe diode arrays

A self-referencing, optical modulation technique was used to measure the negative luminescence efficiencies of an array of mid-wave infrared HgCdTe photodiodes with cutoff wavelength 4.6 mum as a function of sample temperature. The internal efficiency at a wavelength of 4 mum was 93% at 295 K, and nearly independent of temperature in the 240-300 K range. This corresponds to an apparent temperature reduction > 50 K at room temperature and > 30 K at 240 K. Moreover, the reverse-bias saturation current density was only 0.13 A/cm(2). The measured transmission and emission spectra were simulated using empirical HgCdTe absorption formulas from the literature. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.