Wafer-scale Infrared Detectors (WIRED)
Abstract
The WIRED program addresses the need for low-cost, high-performance imaging sensors in the short-wave and mid-wave infrared (SWIR/MWIR) bands. These sensors will provide increased standoff distances for small unmanned aerial vehicles, low-cost missiles, handheld weapon sights and surveillance systems, helmet-mounted systems, and ground-vehicle-mounted threat warning systems. WIRED proposes to manufacture these sensors at the wafer scale, which reduces costs by processing dozens to hundreds of camera imaging arrays at a time. Wafer-scale manufacturing has already driven a revolution in optical imaging in both the visible and the long-wave infrared (LWIR) spectrum, with high-resolution digital cameras and LWIR sensors having become commonplace or widely-available. However, no similar technologies exist for the SWIR/MWIR bands. WIRED could therefore drive a similar revolution in SWIR/MWIR. The program aims to significantly reduce the weight and volume of MWIR detectors, which today require heavy cryogenic cooling systems, and increase the resolution of SWIR detectors by dramatically reducing their pixel size relative to the state-of-the-art.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2021
- Source ID
- 9698754672d47e203ae7ffd843c5218e
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- Root: ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY