Development of 1K x 1K MWIR VASI Mini-Camera System

Exploitation of some of the advantages offered by biological sensors has permitted a class of ¡third generation¡" infrared imaging devices to be conceived and designed. This program will fabricate, test and integrate a 1024 x 1024 pixel version of Nova's MWIR VASI imager using designs produced in the companion Phase I SBIR program. It has been determined that the 1K x 1K device is feasible to design and produce based on a 19.5 ƒYm unit cell dimension that matches the detector pitch of the existing Santa Barbara Focalplane SBF184 indium antimonide detector array. The Phase I program has designed and simulated the 19.5 ƒYm unit cell and has prepared a test chip design that will be ready to fabricate at the start of the Phase II effort. The resulting infrared VASI device will be used in a variety of applications requiring wide fields of view and extremely high frame rates without loss of spatial resolution on targets. This technology may also be applied to real-time angle-rate sensing for autonomous guidance and aircraft flight control applications. In so doing, Nova will continue to advance the state-of-the-art in biomimetic infrared sensing technology.