Room Temperature MWIR FPAs: Return of the Lead Salts?
Abstract
The development of low-cost uncooled thermal LWIR FPAs is resulting in the emergence of a new generation of infrared sensors for applications where affordability is the prerequisite for volume production. Both ferroelectric detector arrays and silicon-based microbolometers are finding numerous applications from gun sights to automotive FLIRs. There would be significant interest in a similar uncooled offering in the MWIR, but to date, thermal detectors have lacked sufficient sensitivity. The existing uncooled MWIR photon detector technology, based on polycrystalline lead salts, has been relegated to single-element detectors and relatively small linear arrays due to the high dark current and the stigma of being a 50-year-old technology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1999
- Accession Number
- ADA390376
Entities
People
- Greg Dudoff
- John Kuppenheimer
- Paul Murphy
- Steven Jost
Organizations
- Lockheed Martin