ON-CHIP INFRARED-SPECTRAL SENSORS BY SUPERCONDUCTING DETECTOR ARRAYS

CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF INFRARED (IR) SPECTROSCOPY FOR ANALYSIS OF CHEMICAL SPECIES ARE LIMITED TO OFF-LINE INSTRUMENTS. THE APPLICATIONS OF A NEW, SMART-DETECTOR DESIGN FOR IR SPECTRAL RESOLUTION IS PLANNED. THIS INNOVATION ACCOMPLISHES SPECTRAL RESOLUTION OF IR DIRECTLY ON THE DETECTOR CHIP ASSEMBLY, AND ALLOWS SPECTRAL ANALYSIS OVER A VERY WIDE WAVELENGTH RANGE, LIMITED ONLY BY THE CHOICE OF OPTICAL WINDOW MATERIALS. THIS NEW SPECTRAL SENSOR IS VERY SMALL, COMPACT, AND RUGGED, ESPECIALLY IF IT IS FABRICATED ON A SILICON WAFER SUBSTRATE. DURING PREVIOUS RESEARCH, THE CENTRAL CONCEPT WAS DEMONSTRATED: THE SENSOR USED A MONOLITHLITHIC DETECTOR ARRAY FABRICATED WITH WITH AN INTERFERENCE-FILTER ARRAY; THE DETECTORS WERE PHOTOTHERMAL BOLOMETERS OF HIGH-TEMPERATURE SUPERCONDUCTING FILMS ON SILICON; AND TESTING IN A FOURIER TRANSFORM IR SPECTROMETER VERIFIED THAT THE DEVICE FUNCTIONED AS EXPECTED IN MODEL SIMULATIONS. PHASE I WILL ADAPT THIS DESIGN INTO A SPECTRAL SENSOR FOR CHEMICAL SPECIES ANALYSIS AND MONITORING, IN A FORM SUITED TO PORTABLE FIELD INSTALLATIONS AND FLEXIBLE PROGRAMMABILITY. NUMEROUS SPECIFIC EXPRESSIONS OF THIS TYPE OF DEVICE CAN BE ENVISIONED, AND WILL BE THE BASIS FOR MUCH OF THE PHASE II ACTIVITY.