Small Pixel High Sensivity IR Imaging Array

There is a continuing drive within the DOD to develop ever smaller pitch pixels in uncooled IR imaging arrays to enable high spatial resolution, compact infrared cameras for a number of applications. A key limitation to the sensitivity achievable with such imaging arrays is the low temperature conversion sensitivity of the typical microbolometer materials and their associated noise sources. Capacitively sensed, microcantilever based infrared sensors have demonstrated high conversion sensitivities of 50%/K or more without the 1/f and Johnson noise sources which are present in all thermoresistive materials. Extensive modeling of 50 micron and smaller pitched pixels show that microcantilever sensor arrays are capable of near background limited performance. Multispectral Imaging will demonstrate that the use of innovative microcantilever sensing structures and associated detection electronics will enable high sensitivity performance to be achieved for IR arrays with 17 micron pitched pixels. The Phase I effort will demonstrate the technical feasibility of this approach through modeling and analysis, and the fabrication of selected test structures to demonstrate the key features of the microcantilever sensor approach. The Phase II effort will build upon the results of the earlier work to fabricate small imaging arrays with the required sensitivity and temporal response specifications.