Fieldable Midwave Infrared Sum Frequency LADAR Sensor

In response to the U.S. Navy need for highly efficient mid wave infrared (MWIR) detection for LADAR missile seeker applications, Luminit proposes to develop a novel fieldable Midwave Infrared Sum Frequency (MIRSF) broadband passive imager/LADAR sensor. This MIRSF LADAR imager/sensor is based on sum frequency generation (SFG) in periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN), in which the MWIR signals are frequency up-converted to the visible and detected by silicon sensors, eliminating the need for cryogenically-cooled HgCdTe focal-plane arrays (FPA). In Phase I, Luminit experimentally demonstrated frequency up-conversion of a 3.64 micron MWIR signal to 772 nm in a PPLN crystal using a 980 nm pump diode laser and successfully detected the 772 nm SFG signal using a low cost silicon photodiode detector. In Phase II, Luminit will optimize the SFG efficiency, broaden the MWIR coverage to the entire 3 to 5 micron band, enhance the detection sensitivity, develop a fully-functioning prototype MIRSF imager, and demonstrate the detection of real-time broadband MWIR images of distant targets using highly sensitive non-cryogenically-cooled silicon sensors.