Megapixel Low Light Level Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) Imager for Persistent Surveillance

Persistent surveillance missions require the continuous observation of roadways, road junctions, and other areas of interest from platforms operating at low, medium, and high altitude. A single, monolithic CMOS sensor would provide significant advantages in terms of reduced complexity, size, weight, and power. Recent advances in silicon based CMOS technology have shown the potential for operation during extremely low light conditions with both high frame rate and spectral response into the NIR. The technical objectives for this project include: a) a large area, monolithic CMOS focal plane of at least 10K x 10K pixels with potential to expand to 20K x 20K pixels; b) pixel size of 5-10 microns; c) frame rate of 2 – 20 Hertz with sub-array readout capability of not less than 30 Hertz; d) low noise architecture for dawn to dusk operation; e) provision for color and black & white imagery; and f) capable of being manufactured using 200 mm wafer processes. The proposed Phase I study will address the design of a CMOS imager meeting these specifications.