Some Features of Heat Propagation in the W/La0.99Ce0.01B6/Mo/Al2O3 Thermoelectric Sensor of Single-Photon Detectors

Abstract

The results of modeling the heat propagation processes in a multilayer W/La_0.99Ce_0.01B₆/Mo/Al₂O₃ thermoelectric sensor of a single-photon detector are presented. The calculations were performed using the three-dimensional matrix method based on the heat propagation equation from a limited volume. The temperature temporal dependences of different areas of a sensor were investigated. The maximum temperature value in the center of the surface and at 10 points with a fixed step from the center to the edge of all layers, the time to reach the maximum temperature, the time of temperature equalization on the surface of the layers and the temperature at which this occurs, as well as the time of temperature decay in the hot spot to the background value were determined. The features and patterns of heat propagation in the thermoelectric sensor after absorption of photons with an energy of 7.1–0.8 eV were revealed. The obtained results are the necessary basis for creating a thermoelectric detector capable of registering single photons in a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum.