GaAs VLSI Readout Electronics for Infrared Focal Plane Arrays

GALLIUM ARSENIDE (GaAs) TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES HAVE SHOWN THE CAPABILITY FOR PRODUCING VERY LARGE SCALE INTEGRATED (VLSI) CIRCUITS FOR DIGITAL COMPUTING APPLICATIONS. THE INTENT OF THIS PROJECT IS EXTEND THE GaAs VLSI TECHNOLOGY TO ANALOG READOUT ELECTRONICS FOR THE SDI INFRARED FOCAL PLANE ARRAYS (IRFPA's). THE SDI INFRARED SURVEILLANCE SENSORS AND MISSILE SEEKERS REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT ON-FPA ELECTRONICS TO ACQUIRE AND TRACK TARGETS. IN ADDITION, THESE DEVICES MUST SURVIVE AND OPERATE IN THE HARSH, EXTREME TEMPERATURE AND ACCELERATION ENVIRONMENT FOR SDI APPLICATIONS. THE ADVANTAGES OF GaAs VLSI READOUT ELECTRONICS ARE LOW NOISE (THERMAL, KTC AND l/f), LOW DARK CURRENT AT CRYOGENIC TEMPERATURES, HIGH COUPLING EFFICIENCY WITH GaAs ELECTRONICS, EXCELLENT RADIATION HARDNESS, EXTREMELY WIDE OPERATING TEMPERATURE RANGE (BOTH HIGH AND LOW), HIGH SPEED RESPONSE, PHOTONIC INTEGRATION AND INTERFACE, LOW PARASITIC LOSSES, AND IMPROVED PERFORMANCE TO FABRICATION COST RATIO. OUR APPROACH IS INNOVATIVE, EFFECTIVE, AND PROVIDES SYSTEM CAPABILITIES UNOBTAINABLE WITHOUT THE USE OF GaAs TECHNOLOGY. THE SPECIFIC OBJECTIVE OF THE PHASE I PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A LARGE ARRAY OF GaAs READOUT MULTIPLEXER. THE TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES OF THE PHASE-I 6 MONTHS PROJECT ARE: 1)SPECIFICATIONS DEVELOPMENT, 2)FOUNDRY SELECTION, 3)MULTIPLEXER ARCHITECTURE, AND 4)READOUT CIRCUITS. PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS IN TERMS OF NOISE, BANDWIDTH, DYNAMIC RANGE, POWER DISSIPATION, ETC. WILL BE ADDRESSED.