Micro-coolers for Focal Plane Arrays (MC-FPA)
Abstract
The Micro-coolers for FPAs program will develop low Size, Weight, Power, and cost (SWaP-C) cryogenic coolers for application in high performance IR cameras. The sensitivity of an IR focal-plane array (FPA) is improved by cooling its detectors to cryogenic temperatures. The disadvantages of state-of-the art Sterling cryo-coolers used for high performance IR FPAs are large size, high power and high cost. On the other hand, thermoelectric (TE) coolers used in low performance IR cameras are relatively small, high power and it is difficult to achieve temperatures below 200 K. To reduce IR camera SWaP-C, innovations in cooler technology are needed. This program will exploit the Joule-Thompson (J-T) cooling principle, in a silicon-based MEMS technology, for making IR FPA coolers with very low SWaP-C. MEMS microfluidics, piezoelectric MEMS, and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) electronics will be used to demonstrate an integrated cold head and compressor, all in a semiconductor chip. Since a J-T cooler works by cooling from gas expansion, the coefficient of performance is expected to be much higher than state-of-the-art TE coolers and significantly smaller than Sterling coolers. The chip-scale J-T cooler will be designed for pressure ratios of 4 or 5 to 1 with high compressor frequency in small volume. The goal of the MC-FPA Program will be to demonstrate cooling down to 150K. The microcoolers chip-scale size will cost less and will be significantly smaller. Once the proof-of-principle is demonstrated, subsequent program effort would focus on transitioning to chip-scale manufacture on 8-12 inch wafers, resulting in cooler costs decreasing to as low as $50. An extended wavelength-range short-wave IR detector will be integrated with a micro-cooler for demonstration of the MC-FPA. The basic research component of this program is budgeted under PE 0601101E, Project ES-01.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Accomplishment
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2014
- Source ID
- d79b47e842f1364c6d1dd6658a83afa6
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- Root: ELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY