Platinum silicide
Encyclopedia
Platinum silicide is a semiconductor material used in infrared detector
s. It is used in detectors for infrared astronomy
.
Platinum
silicide
is capable of operating at 1–5 µm wavelength
range. It has a good sensitivity (up to 0.05 °C) and high stability. Its manufacturing process is relatively simple, with good yields, resulting in reasonable cost.
Platinum silicide is made by ion implantation
of platinum into silicon surface, forming a Schottky diode
structure. Due to silicon-based technology, large detector devices with low noise
and good quality are available, and the manufacturing is relatively simple. However their quantum efficiency
is abysmally low (typically under 1%), and therefore platinum silicide devices are currently used only rarely, being displaced by better materials.
Platinum silicide devices offer high uniformity of the imaging arrays, avoiding the need of on-line image corrections, and simplifying the device construction. They are in use in some thermal imaging applications, particularly for measurement, as PtSi is very stable and has low drift of parameters with time. The low cost and high stability makes it a suitable material for imaging devices for preventive maintenance
and scientific IR imaging.
A well-formed platinum silicide layer is opaque to infrared light, and the barrier height of the resulting Schottky diodes should be 0.84±0.3 eV.
HgCdTe and indium antimonide are materials with similar uses.
Infrared detector
An infrared detector is a photodetector that reacts to infrared radiation. The two main types of detectors are thermal and photonic.The thermal effects of the incident IR radiation can be followed through many temperature dependent phenomena....
s. It is used in detectors for infrared astronomy
Infrared astronomy
Infrared astronomy is the branch of astronomy and astrophysics that studies astronomical objects visible in infrared radiation. The wavelength of infrared light ranges from 0.75 to 300 micrometers...
.
Platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
silicide
Silicide
A silicide is a compound that has silicon with more electropositive elements.Silicon is more electropositive than carbon. Silicides are structurally closer to borides than to carbides....
is capable of operating at 1–5 µm wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
range. It has a good sensitivity (up to 0.05 °C) and high stability. Its manufacturing process is relatively simple, with good yields, resulting in reasonable cost.
Platinum silicide is made by ion implantation
Ion implantation
Ion implantation is a materials engineering process by which ions of a material are accelerated in an electrical field and impacted into another solid. This process is used to change the physical, chemical, or electrical properties of the solid...
of platinum into silicon surface, forming a Schottky diode
Schottky diode
The Schottky diode is a semiconductor diode with a low forward voltage drop and a very fast switching action...
structure. Due to silicon-based technology, large detector devices with low noise
Noise
In common use, the word noise means any unwanted sound. In both analog and digital electronics, noise is random unwanted perturbation to a wanted signal; it is called noise as a generalisation of the acoustic noise heard when listening to a weak radio transmission with significant electrical noise...
and good quality are available, and the manufacturing is relatively simple. However their quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency
Quantum efficiency is a quantity defined for a photosensitive device such as photographic film or a charge-coupled device as the percentage of photons hitting the photoreactive surface that will produce an electron–hole pair. It is an accurate measurement of the device's electrical sensitivity to...
is abysmally low (typically under 1%), and therefore platinum silicide devices are currently used only rarely, being displaced by better materials.
Platinum silicide devices offer high uniformity of the imaging arrays, avoiding the need of on-line image corrections, and simplifying the device construction. They are in use in some thermal imaging applications, particularly for measurement, as PtSi is very stable and has low drift of parameters with time. The low cost and high stability makes it a suitable material for imaging devices for preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance
Preventive maintenance has the following meanings:#The care and servicing by personnel for the purpose of maintaining equipment and facilities in satisfactory operating condition by providing for systematic inspection, detection, and correction of incipient failures either before they occur or...
and scientific IR imaging.
A well-formed platinum silicide layer is opaque to infrared light, and the barrier height of the resulting Schottky diodes should be 0.84±0.3 eV.
HgCdTe and indium antimonide are materials with similar uses.
External links
- http://snf.stanford.edu/Materials/ChemFiles/PtSi.html