POLY-SI INFRARED DYNAMIC SCENE GENERATOR ARRAY

WE PROPOSE TO DEVELOP AN INFRARED (IR) DYNAMIC SCENE GENERATOR, USING AN ARRAY OF POLY-SI RESISTORS INTEGRATED WITH ON-CHIP . CONTROL ELECTRONICS FABRICATED BY A CONVENTIONAL SI PROCESS. THE SPECIAL FEATURES OF THE ARRAY ARE HIGH RESOLUTION, HIGH FRAME RATE, LOW BLOOMING, LOW WEIGHT, HIGH YIELD AND LARGE ARRAY FORMAT . (UP TO 512 X 512). WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE POLY-SI RESISTOR . FABRICATING PROCESS ON SI, DESIGN THE ON-CHIP CIRCUIT FOR IR EMISSION CONTROL AND DESIGN A PROCESSOR FOR OPERATING THE ARRAY. THEN, WE WILL FABRICATE A SMALL 5X7 TEST ARRAY TO DEMONSTRATE THE ARRAY CONCEPT. WHEN SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPED, EACH RESISTOR CAN BE PROGRAMMED TO EMIT IR RADIATION BY HEATING THE RESISTOR TO AT LEAST 1000 K WITH A CONTROLLED CURRENT. WHEN ALL THE RESISTORS OF THE ARRAY ARE MADE TO RADIATE INDEPENDENTLY, A2-DIMENSIONAL IR SCENE IS CREATED WHICH IS THEN PROJECTED ONTO A SENSOR FOR SIMULATION OR TESTING PURPOSES. DUE TO ITS HIGH FRAME RATE, THE ARRAY IS IDEAL FOR PROJECTING FAST-CHANGING SCENES TO SIMULATE ORTEST IR DYNAMICS EXPERIENCED BY IR SENSORS. BY VIRTUE OF THE HIGH YIELD OF THE POLY-SI RESISTORS, THE FABRICATION OF LARGE ARRAYS (E.G. 512X512) BECOMES POSSIBLE SO THAT HIGH-RESOLUTION AND LARGE FIELD-OF-VIEW SCENE GENERATORS ARE ACHIEVABLE. BEING SMALL SIZE AND LOW WEIGHT, THE ARRAY IS EASILY MODULARIZED FOR BOTH LABORATORY AND FIELD RUGGEDIZED TEST SETS.