Ultraviolet photodiodes demonstrate high optical gains
Georgia Tech group led by Russell Dupuis demonstrates that GaN-based detectors have anti-terror potential
Atlanta (June 25, 2008) -- Researchers have shown that a new class of ultraviolet photodiode could help meet the U.S. military's pressing requirement for compact, reliable and cost-effective sensors to detect anthrax and other bioterrorism agents in the air.
"The military is currently using photomultiplier tubes, which are bulky, fragile and require a lot of power to run them, or silicon photodiodes that require a complex filter so that they only detect the desired ultraviolet light," said Russell Dupuis, Steve W. Chaddick Endowed Chair in Electro-Optics in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.
New research shows that ultraviolet avalanche photodiodes offer the high gain, reliability and robustness needed to detect these agents and help authorities rapidly contain an incident like the 2001 anthrax attacks.