(CII) (DURIP) TUNABLE MID-IR LASER APPARATUS FOR 2D-MATERIAL-BASED MID-IR SPECTRAL IMAGER RESEARCH
Abstract
There is an unmet need for compact, low-power hyperspectral imagers operating in the thermal and mid-infrared spectral regions. This technology has many applications of military interest, such as night vision with enhanced target/background contrast, remote material/threat identification, hazardous gas imaging, and IR point-to-point communication. We are working to address this need through spectrally-resolving 2D-material-based photodetector arrays that promise unprecedented performance for uncooled imagers, with detectivities ?10^10 Jones, up to GHz bandwidths, and fine spectral resolution. We plan to integrate optimized device concepts in a CMOS platform to demonstrate a high-performance hyperspectral camera. Characterizing such devices will require a mid-IR optical setup, the centerpiece of which is a tunable mid-IR quantum cascade laser (QCL). Accordingly, in this DURIP, we propose the acquisition of a setup for wavelength- and spatiallyresolved photoresponse measurements of mid-IR photodetectors, as well as passive reflection or absorption spectroscopy measurements of the underlying metamaterials used for the hyperspectral functionality. This apparatus would give us the flexibility to direct our research to target wavelengths of military interest (in particular, the thermal IR range of 7.6-10.8 ?m over which there is significant room-temperature emission as well as identifying spectral lines for many chemicals). It would also allow us to engineer and experimentally evaluate the spectral properties of our systems from the start, as opposed to designing devices based on the current availability of fixed wavelength mid-IR light sources on campus which do not cover the practical range of interest. As such, we would be one step closer to demonstrating devices with performance metrics that align with actual military needs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 20, 2023
- Source ID
- FA95502210516
Entities
People
- Dirk Englund
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- United States Air Force