Broadband High Operating Temperature Strained Layer Superlattice Focal Plane Arrays (FPA)

ABSTRACT:The objective of the overall SBIR program is to develop a high performance mid-format (512 x 512, with 30 micron pitch) broad-band mid-wave (MW, 5 micron cut-off wavelength at 200K) infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) using InAs/GaSb strained layer superlattices (SLS). SKINfrared LLC (SKI), a spin-off from the Krishna Infrared Detector (KIND) Nanostructures laboratory at the University of New Mexico (www.chtm.unm.edu/kind) will team up with Raytheon Vision Systems (RVS) to deliver a MWIR FPA to Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the evaluation at the end of the two year project.BENEFIT:InAs/GaSb SLS have emerged as a disruptive technology in the past five years. Broadband higher operating temperature detectors provide additional functionality for surveillance, space situational awareness and reconnaissance missions. The partner on this proposal, RVS has significant experience in technology development for next generation of large format infrared focal plane arrays (IRFPA) to develop the best solution for ballistic missile intercept systems such as SM-3 (IIA and future upgrades). These new IRFPAs are designed to provide improved system capabilities such as enhanced imaging for target discrimination, signature recognition, countermeasure, and clutter rejection. This effort can therefore provide risk reduction to current HgCdTe FPA approaches and be seamlessly inserted into future RVS IR&D demonstration activities. Most importantly, the results of this work can be directly communicated to AFRL customers to facilitate technology insertion possibilities. During the proposed Phase II effort RVS is therefore in a position to accurately assess and quantify the performance of the SKI MWIR 512x512 pBiBn FPAs against the benchmark of existing SM-3 performance requirements and incumbent HgCdTe large-format MWIR FPA technology that is currently being developed at RVS.