LARGE SCALE BOLOMETER ARRAY FOR FAR IR GLINT RETURN TRACKING

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP A NOVEL AND INNOVATIVE METHOD OF FABRICATING LARGE-AREA LONG WAVELENGTH INFRARED (LWIR) DETECTOR ARRAYS THAT CAN BE OPERTED AT ROOM TEMPERATURE FOR FAR INFRARED ACTIVE GLINT RETURN TRACKING. THIS TECHNIQUE USES ESTABLISHED TECHNOLOGIES OF MICRO-MACHINING AND MICROELECTRONIC PROCESSING OF SILICON (SI) WAFERS FOR FABRICATING MONOLITHIC ARRAYS OF UNCOOLED LWIR DETECTORS. THE DETECTOR ELEMENTS OF THE ARRAY ARE FORMED BY AN ULTRA-THIN FILM OF A BOLOMETER MATERIAL POSSESSING THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE COEFFICIENT OF RESISTANCE KNOWN, AND THE READOUT ELECTRONIC MICROCIRCUIT IS FABRICATED ON THE SAME SILICON CHIP NEXT TO THE ELEMENTS. THE RESULTANT DETECTOR ARRAYS WILL THUS POSSESS FEATURES OF HIGH SPEED, HIGH RESOLUTION, LOW COST, LOW WEIGHT, AND HIGH SENSITIVITY. SINCE THE ARRAYS ARE SILICON BASED, LARGE ARRAYS OF LOW RESPONSE TIME ARE POSSIBLE THUS MAKING THEM IDEAL FOR ACTIVE TRACKING SYSTEMS USING PULSED LASERS. THE HIGH RESPONSIVITY WILL PRODUCE HIGH-FIDELITY ACTIVE IMAGES FOR TARGET DETECTION. THE HIGH RESOLUTION WILL PRODUCE ACCURATE RETURN IMAGES FOR TARGET RECOGNITION. THE FAST RESPONSE FEATURE WILL ALLOW THE USE OF A PULSED LASER FOR ACTIVE IMAGING. THE ROOM-TEMPERATURE OPERATION WILL REDUCE THE IMAGING SENSOR COMPLEXITY AND COST.