RADIATION RESISTANT INFRARED DETECTOR DOPED WITH IMPURITIES AND INFRARED SIGNAL DETECTING METHOD

Japanese Patent JP3809518

B2

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an improved detector which is exclusively used for infrared imaging in the case where influence of disturbance in low dose and high energy extrinsic radiation circumstance cannot be avoided. SOLUTION: This detector structure includes a semiconductor active element which is used in order that efficient extrinsic photo excitation of majority carriers may occur but charge transport may not occur substantially by an impurity conduction mechanism. An injecting layer is disposed on one side of the active element and contains a sufficiently high concentration of impurities for enabling majority carriers to be easily injected in the active element at a low temperature. A sink layer is disposed on the opposite side of the active element and eliminates minority carriers appearing from the active element during high energy irradiation. Two electrodes for applying a bias potential are added to a structure body. When a bias of reverse polarity is applied, the structure body acts the same way as an infrared detector which is doped with normal impurities. When a bias of forward polarity is applied, the structure body is reset to initial state periodically.