ABSTRACT

D’ = ° - , i U d ) ' 11-(8-6) The ratio of absorption coefficient to the thermal generation rate a/G is the

= i L {G tr l/2 - (8-7) The total generation rate is a sum of the optical and thermal generation

radiation (BLIP conditions for Background Limited Infrared Photodetector). The noise equivalent power (NEP) in this approximation is given by4,5

NEP = hv ( ----- , (8.9)

where $>B is the total background photon flux density reaching the detector, and A / is the electrical bandwidth of the receiver. The background photon flux density received by the detector depends on its angular view of the background and on its ability to respond to the wavelengths contained in this source.