Applied Research Programme

The aim of the project was to develop technology for the fabrication of state-of-the-art mid-infrared detectors based on supergrid II-type structures and to develop technology for cascade lasers on InP substrates operating at room temperature. The main purpose of the above-mentioned instruments is the application in molecular spectroscopy and devices for the detection of trace amounts of gaseous pollutants.

The result of the project was the development of components for the construction of the above-mentioned devices and laying the groundwork for their subsequent implementation. An additional result of the project was the development of methodologies and appropriate tools for the design of supergrid detectors and cascade lasers at a given wavelength, which allowed a flexible response to market needs in this area.

VIGO’s role in this project:

– Development of fabrication processes for detectors based on antimonide superlattices of the 2nd kind;

– Development of methods for assembling cascade lasers in hermetically sealed enclosures with temperature stabilization.

The project was co-financed by the National Center for Research and Development under the Applied Research Program.

The HOT project was inspired by the challenges of the global market for advanced mid- and long-term infrared detectors operating without cryogenic cooling. These are referred to by the acronym HOT (High Operation Temperature), which refers to detectors operating at ambient temperature and cooled by simple, inexpensive and convenient thermoelectric or evaporative coolers.

The goal of the project was to develop HOT detectors with improved functional and reliability parameters, as well as to reduce their production costs. Awareness of the limitations of existing technologies and the need to improve them became the basis for research, the practical goal of which was to implement instruments optimized for each wavelength in the 2-16 μm range with higher detectability and shorter time constant than in instruments offered in the past. 

Research and implementation work on infrared detectors with HgCdTe operating without cryogenic cooling is a Polish optoelectronic specialty well recognized in the world. Already in the late 1980s, pioneering technological solutions and designs of uncooled mid- and far-infrared radiation detectors were developed and the production of these detectors, almost entirely for export, was launched. 

VIGO’s role in this project:

– participation in the work on improving the growth of HgCdTe heterostructures by the MOCVD method;

– Participation in work on optimization of detector structures for MWIR detectors;

– Participation in work on optimization of detector structures for MWIR detectors;

– participation in work on fabrication and characterization of improved detectors.

The project was co-financed by the National Center for Research and Development under the Applied Research Program.

The subject of the project was the development of technology for the integration of mid- and far-infrared detectors with broadband electronics in miniature housings for the creation of a series of high-performance detector modules. The scope of work included development and fabrication of detector chips, selection of amplifier chips and enclosures, electromagnetic simulations, electrical measurements of detector and amplifier chips and their interconnections, development and fabrication of detection modules and their comprehensive characterization.

As part of the implementation of this project, VIGO was responsible for:

– development, fabrication and characterization of detection structures on sapphire substrates for integration into electronics;

– development, fabrication and characterization of printed circuit boards with receiving circuit components – broadband amplifiers, wave guides and auxiliary circuits;

– development of detector modules integrating single-element detectors and detector rulers with commercially available broadband electronics;

– manufacture of utility models of miniaturized detection modules with hybrid integration of detectors and electronics.

The project was co-financed by the National Center for Research and Development under the Applied Research Program.

There are disease-specific chemical compounds, so-called biomarkers, in the air exhaled by humans. Previous studies have mainly used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The difficulty of detecting diseases using the aforementioned methods lies in accurately measuring the amount and type of chemical compounds contained in exhaled air. Advances in optoelectronics are opening up new and alternative possibilities in this field. It is possible to detect disease markers based on the measurement of absorption of optical radiation at wavelengths characteristic of the biomarkers sought. The project’s authors have proposed the use of ultrasensitive laser absorption spectroscopy techniques, in particular multi-pass cell spectroscopy and optical cavity loss spectroscopy (CRDS). As part of the SENSORMED project, an optoelectronic sensor system for detecting volatile disease markers was developed.

As part of the implementation of this project, VIGO participated in the development of the optical cavity signal processing circuit, which is the main component of the system proposed by the authors.

The project was co-financed by the National Center for Research and Development under the Applied Research Program.