Background limited ultraviolet photodetectors of solar-blind ultraviolet detection

The background noise in solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) detectors from the solar-irradiance leakage photons has been compared with the detector noise from the dark current. It has been found that the background noise is the deterministic limiting factor in solar-blind UV photodetection. The detector performance of background limited ultraviolet photodetector limit and the ultimate signal fluctuation limit are therefore proposed. It proves to be an effective method for device optimization by suppressing the declining tails above 285 nm in the response curves. The absorptive spectral filter requirement has been discussed for common solar-blind UV detectors to achieve the detectivity improvement. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.