Infrared Detectors—Status and Outlook

The book is scientifically valuable because it defines the importance of LDS photodetectors within the broader group of standard UV, VIS, IR, and THz photodetectors and discusses their advantages/disadvantages. Currently, intensive efforts are being made to reduce the cost of imaging systems and increase operating temperature by reducing size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP). This raises the question of whether the emergence of a new generation of photodetectors will lead to their rapid commercialization compared to the current state of the art. Infrared Detectors—Status and Outlook (Dedicated to Academician Antoni Rogalski—a worldwide-known Professor with more than 50 years with the Institute of Applied Physics—Military University of Technology in Poland) attempts to answer that questions by bringing together 12 chapters (written by recognized researchers in the field). The authors attempt to provide the performance overview of the well-known radiation technologies (thermal detectors, quantum well photodetectors QWIPs, terahertz detectors, II-VI and III-V bulk-based devices, and type-II superlattices to include cascade devices) and the emerging new generation of room temperature photodetectors generally called low-dimensional solids (LDS). Among them, the most important are two-dimensional (2D) materials, perovskites, and quantum dots (QDs)/nanowires (NWs) operating in a wide spectral range from the ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), far infrared (FIR) to terahertz (THz). The LDS reported performance at room temperature is even better than that presented for standard commercial photodetectors. In addition, two chapters gather together potential applications of the photodetectors. Finally, two chapters provide a national overview of photodetectors development.

It must be stressed that the book describes the peculiarities of materials’ physical properties and their impact on photodetector performance. It also undertakes a comprehensive analysis of these performances when confronted with the standard photodetectors dominating the global market. Finally, sums up more than 50 years of Professor Antoni Rogalski’s research on radiation detectors and his contribution to the field.