IR-detectors from 0.9 &mgr;m to 13 &mgr;m spectral range at AIM

In recent years, the interest in infrared imaging systems has broadened from the classical MWIR (3-5 &mgr;m) and LWIR (8-12 &mgr;m) spectral bands to the SWIR (1-3 &mgr;m) and VLWIR (12-15 &mgr;m). The atmospheric transmission windows (MWIR, LWIR) are the preferred spectral region for panchromatic night vision systems to display temperature contrasts. Whereas the characteristic absorption and emission signatures in the SWIR and VLWIR make these bands well suited for remote sensing of material composition (hyperspectral imaging). In the standard bands, AIM has constantly improved homogeneity and reduced the number of defects of its FPAs. We obtain for instance 0.38% defective pixels for 384 x 288 LW arrays. Our FPAs withstand >9'000 thermal cycles without degradation. The improved reliability is based on substrate removal and applying a thermally matched underfiller. For hyperspectral imaging applications, a 1024 x 256 SWIR array with 245 Hz frame rate for low photon fluxes with CTIA input stage was developed. For VLWIR applications we built a 256 x 256 array with 880 Hz frame rate that has a cut-off wavelength of >13 &mgr;m at 40 K. AIM's IR detectors cover the whole spectral range from 0.9 to 13 &mgr;m.