MULTIPLEXED THERMOPILE-BASED INFRARED IMAGING ARRAYS

THIS PROJECT INVESTIGATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERMOPILE-BASED INFRARED IMAGERS USING SILICON INTEGRATED CIRCUIT TECHNOLOGY AND STATE-OF-THE-ART MICROMACHINING. THE DEVICES SHOULD PERMIT THE REMOTE MONITORING OF TEMPERATURE AND TEMPERATURE UNIFORMITY IN FURNACES AND OTHER PROCESS FACILITIES FOR WHICH CONTACT MEASUREMENTS ARE NOT POSSIBLE. THE PROJECT ALSO PROVIDES THE KEY ELEMENT IN ADVANCED THERMAL SENSING SYSTEMS CAPABLE OF AUTOMATIC COMPENSATION FOR DEVICE OFFSETS AND NONLINEARITIES AS WELL AS OBJECT EMISSIVITY VARIATIONS. BUILDING ON RESEARCH PERFORMED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, THE WORK FOCUSES ON TRANSFERRING THAT TECHNOLOGY TO A COMMERCIAL PRODUCT. IN PHASE I OF THIS PROJECT, THE UNIVERSITY'S PREVIOUS RESEARCH VEHICLE-A 32-ELEMENT LINEAR IMAGER-IS BEING REDESIGNED TO MAKE IT MORE COMPATIBLE WITH FOUNDRY FABRICATION AND TO OPTIMIZE IT FURTHER FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATIONS. MICROMACHINING CAPABILITIES ARE BEING INSTALLED SO THAT EVENTUAL PRODUCTION WAFERS, WHEN RETURNED FROM THE FOUNDRY, CAN BE ETCHED IN-HOUSE AS THE FINAL STEP IN THE PROCESS TO CREATE THE FINISHED IMAGERS. IN ADDITION, A PACKAGE THAT PRESERVES THE HIGH PERFORMANCE OF THE DETECTOR, AND IS CONSISTENT WITH HIGH PRODUCTION VOLUMES AT LOW COST, IS BEING DEVELOPED. FINALLY, PROTOTYPE ARRAYS FABRICATED AT THE UNIVERSITY ARE BEING TESTED TO DETERMINE THEIR PERFORMANCE. PHASE II WOULD INITIATE IMAGER WAFER FABRICATION AT A COMMERCIAL FOUNDRY AND EXPLORE PRACTICAL WAFER PERFORMANCE AND YIELD IN HIGH VOLUMES. IT WOULD ALSO INVESTIGATE FULL AREA ARRAYS BASED ON THIS TECHNOLOGY.