Radiation Hard Mid-Wave Infrared Imagers

EPIR proposes to fabricate and deliver radiation-hardened 8µm pitch, 1280×720 mid-wave infrared (MWIR) focal plane arrays (FPAs) and cameras using HgCdTe material grown utilizing molecular beam epitaxy and commercial digital readout integrated circuits. HgCdTe infrared photon detectors have high sensitivity, require low integration time and are capable of operating at high frame rates, hence are ideal for high-speed navigation in high dynamic range and low contrast scenes and for detecting fast-moving targets. With the emergence of high operation temperature design concepts, reducing the cooling requirements became feasible and our FPAs can achieve background limited performance at 160K. The proposed work leverages EPIR’s previous radiation hardening efforts. Our FPAs were tested under 1.5E13 n/cm2 accumulated neutron dose up to 66MeV, instant flux of 2E9 n/cm2/s for two hours and maintained full imaging capabilities. In the current Phase 1, EPIR will conduct modeling and simulation studies to improve MWIR HgCdTe FPA performance, design MWIR FPAs and imagers based on simulation results to improve strategic sensor performance. EPIR will also establish procedures to fabricate the FPAs and imagers to confirm the feasibility of our design. Finally, we will design FPA and camera testing methodologies to mimic radiation application scenarios for Navy’s strategic systems.