Lead salt resonant cavity enhanced detector with MEMS mirror

We describe a tunable resonant cavity enhanced detector (RCED) for the mid-infrared employing narrow gap lead-chalcogenide (IV–VI) layers on a Si substrate. The device consists of an epitaxial Bragg reflector layer, a thin p–n+ heterojunction with PbSrTe as detecting layer and a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) micromirror as second mirror. Despite the thin absorber layer the sensitivity is even higher than for a conventional detector. Tunability is achieved by changing the cavity length with a vertically movable MEMS mirror. The device may be used as miniature infrared spectrometer to cover the spectral range from <3 μm up to >30 μm.