*Thirty two SiGe/Si HIP arrays, in 256 x 256-element format, have been fabricated at JPL. They have been delivered to Hughes Technology Center for hybridization to readouts. (JPL)
*Improvements in the processing and fabrication of random gratings for the QWIP detectors have been achieved. Tests of improved-grating detectors indicate an improvement of 6x has been achieved. (JPL)
*Work continued on the optimization of InAsSb/InSb materials at Sandia. They demonstrated reproducible, uniform growth of this material with a highest-ever (22%) As content, which displayed excellent photoluminescence. (JPL)
*Photoconductive HgZnTe arrays for TES were tested and characterized at SBRC this quarter. The substrate growth for PV devices was initiated. The initial growth of "defect free" HgZnTe at Xaxton, Inc. was very successful. (LaRC)
*Excellent performance of a 256 x 256 Si:As IBC array was reported by M. McKelvey et al. at the July UCLA IR Astronomy with Arrays workshop. Test data from ARC, the University of Rochester, and Hughes were combined into a paper which showed excellent operability, responsivity, dark current, and noise levels. (ARC)
*The fabrication of low-temperature (1.5 - 4 K) readouts, model CRC-696, was completed at Hughes Technology Center. Initial cryogenic test data from Hughes and the University of Arizona showed excellent noise at 4 K from a multiplexing, 32-channel readout. This represents a major advance in far-IR array technology. (ARC)
*For the first time, solid-state photomultiplier (SSPM) devices in antimony-doped silicon were produced at Rockwell. The performance of these devices, with ~50% increase in cutoff wavelength, will be determined in the near future. (ARC)