SBIR-STTR Award

In Phase I of this proposed program, an innovative high yield technology will be developed to produce MWIR HgCdTe arrays operating at TE-cooled temperatures. This technology has been successfully used at Fermionics Corporation to develop shortwave and longwave HgCdTe arrays. By the end of the Phase I program, a camera, using the TE-cooled MWIR HgCdTe focal plane array as the sensing device will be delivered to the Navy for evaluation. The readout circuit used for operating the HgCdTe array will be Circuit ISC9809, a standard product of Indigo Systems. In Phase II, the development efforts will be directed to reducing weight, cost, and dimension of the integrated cameras. Companies with related specialties will be invited to join the development team. Finally, in Phase III, a large-scale production line will be established. The lightweight, low cost, TE-cooled HgCdTe MWIR cameras will be commercialized for both military and civilian applications.

Benefits:
The manned land/sea/air vehicle, UAV, and infantry military market for such sensors could be in excess of 1000 cameras per year. Additional applications such as spectroscopy, remote sensing, medical imaging, firefighting, police/border patrol, and other government/commercial/scientific applications could have a market of tens of thousands/year. As the camera costs drop, the market for such devices is likely to expand rapidly.

Keywords:
Midwave Infrared, Infrared, HgCdTe, Focal Plane Array, Detectors, Infrared Cameras, Electronic Warfare, ZnCdTe

The ultimate goal of this SBIR project is to develop a technology to produce low-cost, lightweight, MidWave InfraRed (MWIR) sensors. In Phase I, the feasibility of producing a thermo-electrically cooled HgCdTe Focal Plane Array camera has been demonstrated. In Phase II, the first major objective is to perfect the HgCdTe focal plane array and the array production technology; the second is to miniaturize the electronics operating the camera; and the third is to reduce the overall camera production cost. In the Phase II, Fermionics will conduct a number of experiments to reduce the dark current of diodes in the HgCdTe array, and thus, to improve the array performance. In addition, Fermionics will select a subcontractor(s) to develop the miniaturized camera electronics. Finally, prototype cameras will be manufactured. In Phase III, MWIR HgCdTe FPA cameras will be mass-produced for the Navy and for other commercial applications. The manned land/sea/air vehicle, and infantry military market for such sensors could be in excess of 1000 cameras per year. Additional applications such as spectroscopy, remote sensing, medical imaging, firefighting, police/border patrol, and other government/commercial/scientific applications could have a market of tens of thousands/year. As the camera costs drop, the market for such devices is lkely to expand rapidly.

Keywords:
Hgcdte, Mwir, Focal Plane Array, Thermal Electric Cooling, Infrared, Sensor, Readout Integrated Circuit, Electronic Warfare