Infrared Nanoscale Polymer-Dispersed Liquid Crystal Focal Plane Array

To address the Air Force need for new materials and processes that enable the improvement of uncooled long-wave infrared (LWIR) sensors to reach a noise equivalent temperature difference (NETD) of 20 mK at f/2.0 or greater, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop a new nanoscale polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (N-PDLC) material. Based on this material POC will develop an advanced LWIR detector in which a new process for converting thermal irradiation into electrical signals will be implemented. These two innovations and the innovative design of the detector will be used to develop a LWIR focal plane array (FPA) with a 20 mK NETD at f/2.0 or greater. In Phase I, POC will demonstrate the feasibility of our approach by fabricating a LWIR FPA prototype with 8x8 pixels. This prototype will measure thermal irradiation in the wavelength range of 7-14 microns with sensitivity better than 20 mK. In Phase II, POC plans to develop a LWIR FPA with SXGA resolution (1280x1024 pixels, <17 micron pitch), 14 bit grayscale, and 30 frames/s. BENEFIT: Upon successful completion, the uncooled, high-resolution LWIR FPA will enhance military capabilities in surveillance, reconnaissance, and target recognition from various platforms. Because of its outstanding performance parameters, it will also have immediate commercial applications, in automobile collision avoidance, home and business surveillance systems, medical diagnostics systems, and law enforcement and firefighter systems.