Description
At the methodological level, these activities are focused on the development of a set of simulation tools that allow the determination of the electronic, optical and transport properties of narrow-gap semiconductor alloys and superlattice structures used for advanced mid- and long-wavelength infrared imaging arrays. At the application level -also with the support of industrial partners- the main goal is to optimize small-pitch pixels for high-operating-temperature focal plane arrays (FPAs). A first activity involves the development of semiclassical numerical techniques for the simulation of the optical and electrical response of FPAs in realistic broadband illumination conditions, making use of finite-differences time-domain (FDTD) and finite-box codes for the electromagnetic and electrical simulation. Novel techniques are developed to apply the FDTD electromagnetic simulation to complex HgCdTe-based heterostructures with arbitrary composition profiles. A second activity regards the simulation of nanostructured materials and devices based on antimonide type-II superlattices. This activity involves the development of genuine quantum-kinetic simulators based on the nonequilibrium Green’s function technique.