Low-Cost, Low-SWaP, and High-Performance Uncooled Infrared Phototransistor Compatible with CMOS Readout Integrated Circuit

High-performance MWIR/LWIR imaging has various applications in defense and civilian sectors, including target detection and discrimination, remote sensing, chemical and biological sensing and imaging, atmospheric and environmental monitoring, IR spectroscopy, material analysis, etc. Existing technologies are bulky, heavy, and require cryogenic cooling systems, leading to significant increases in size, weight, and power (SWaP). Additionally, the photocurrent from MWIR/LWIR focal plane arrays (FPAs) must be read using CMOS ROICs, which are integrated with the FPAs through a heterogeneous chip-level flip-chip bonding and hybridization process, which significantly adds complexity and cost. This SBIR project aims to develop a high-performance uncooled MWIR/LWIR phototransistor and imaging system with low cost and significantly reduced SWaP capable of wafer-scale integration with CMOS ROICs. In phase I, we will design a 2x2 uncooled MWIR/LWIR phototransistor array with the integrated readout FETs. In the Phase I option, we will fabricate a 2x2 uncooled MWIR/LWIR FPA and test it for a proof-of-concept demonstration. In Phase II, a prototype of the compact, high-performance, uncooled MWIR imaging system with wafer-scale integrated ROIC will be developed and characterized.