Infrared Spectrometer on a Chip
Abstract
Applications for infrared spectroscopy appear in the semiconductor, utility, petroleum, chemical, transportation, medical and environmental industries, in R&D and in the military. The drawback is that infrared spectrometers and detectors are complex systems which are expensive ($20,000 or more) and involve moving mechanical parts which must be maintained in careful alignment. There is a need for low cost (less than a few hundred dollars) devices which can be used in these applications. This Phase 1 project has successfully demonstrated the combination of Advanced Fuel Research's graded interference filter (GIF) spectrometer and Raytheon/TI Systems' a-Si microbolometer arrays. During the course of this project, we have fabricated 3 etalon sets, suitable for mating with the microbolometers. Two 256x78 microbolometer arrays were fabricated by Raytheon, wired internally into 25 channels of 10x78 pixels each. These etalon/microbolometer arrays were tested successfully in a spectrometer test fixture. This spectrometer includes an infrared source, focusing optics, provision for a gas cell, micromanipulators for the etalon and microbolometer arrays, biasing and signal conditioning electronics, and a chopper/modulator for the bolometers. Several design variations were evaluated using a LabView computer program: incomplete etalon sets, etalons sets with thicknesses differing from the design target thicknesses, and the effect of differing bandpass filters in the optical path.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 17, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA351822
Entities
People
- David G. Hamblen