Detectors used in the visible are the eye, photomultiplier (200-900 nm), and Si photodiode (180-1050 nm). The photodiode has in general poorer sensitivity than the photomultiplier.
Detectors used in the near infrared are PbS photodiode (poor sensitivity), InSb (1-5 m; at liquid nitrogen temperatures, incredibly sensitive), InGaAs (
m; works at -20
Detectors used in the mid-infrared are Golay cells, the thermopile, HgCdTe (6000-400 cm-1; a photoresistor whose resistance changes as a function of incident IR radiation; high sensitivity, but must be cooled to liquid nitrogen temperatures), BIB arrays (helium cooled high-sensitivity devices used by the military, and only recently available commercially), ferroelectric crystals such as Li(Nb,Ta)O3 and deuterated triglycerine sulfate).
Detectors used in the far-infrared are bolometers (must be cooled to liquid helium temperatures to avoid emission from the instrument itself).
References
Boyd, R. W. Radiometry and the Detection of Optical Radiation. New York: Wiley, 1983.
Keyes, R. J. (Ed.). Optical and Infrared Detectors, 2nd ed. Berlin: Springer-Verlag, 1980.
Kingston, R. H. Detection of Optical and Infrared Radiation. Berlin Springer-Verlag, 1978.
Rieke, G. H. Detection of Light: From the Ultraviolet to the Submillimeter. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1994.
Vincent, J. D. Fundamentals of Infrared Detector Operation and Testing. New York: Wiley, 1990.
Weisstein, E. W. "Books about Detectors." http://www.ericweisstein.com/encyclopedias/books/Detectors.html.
