Continuing advances in CMOS technology including finer lithography, the addition of dense planarized interconnect layers, concomitant improvements in transistor performance, and the availability of design tools that facilitate large- scale circuit integration, are now enabling the development of systems on a chip. While the first such imaging systems- on-a-chip supported detection of radiation at visible wavelengths, recent imaging systems-on-a-chip extend into the infrared. The result is high-performance infrared FPAs with high functionality. We report our progress at Rockwell Science Center in exploiting submicron CMOS to produce such infrared imaging systems-on-a-chip while overcoming accompanying challenges such as lower operating voltage. Our goal is to develop third-generation infrared imagers with compelling performance and functionality advantages that not only provide high sensitivity and resolution, but also facilitate on-demand sensor selection to adeptly match each mission without need for extensive support logistics including extensive cooling and elaborate camera electronics.
A high-performance 5-μm 640 X 480 HgCdTe/CdTe/Al2O3 infrared focal plane array (FPA) that offers full TV-compatible resolution with excellent sensitivity at temperatures below 120 K has been developed. Mean FPA D* at 95 K and background of 1014 photons/cm2 s is background-limited at ~1 x 1012 cm Hz1/2/W for the typical mean quantum efficiency of 60 to 70%. The key technology making this large, high-sensitivity device producible is the epitaxial growth of HgCdTe on a rugged CdTe-buffered sapphire substrate. Mean camera noise-equivalent temperature difference NEΔT of 13 mK has been achieved at ≤ 120 K operating temperature and 3.4- to 4.2-μm passband; this is about an order of magnitude better than similar currently available cameras, which use PtSi FPAs and require cooling to ≤ 77 K to maintain performance at low scene temperatures.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.