Longwave Infrared Focal Plane Arrays for Missile Tracking at High Frame Rates

Missile seekers would benefit from a focal plane array (FPA) that allowed high-speed single or multiple-windowing acquisition of the target or targets while maintaining situational awareness of the rest of the field of view. Such data reduction helps where bandwidth is limited, e.g. arrays with formats larger than 1Kx1K, allowing tracking of high-speed missiles at high frame rates. Readout multiplexers with this Variable Acuity Superpixel Imaging (VASI) capability were recently developed by Novasensors under DOD SBIRs. In Phase 1, QmagiQ will develop and deliver a high quantum efficiency longwave infrared focal plane array on a 320x256 readout with this new capability. In Phase 2, we will develop and deliver a 1Kx1K sensor engine to an MDA program (e.g. THAAD) to field-test the full benefits of this first-generation "smart" FPA with features such as on-chip data compression, multiple windowing, and random-pixel-addressability.