Future advances in uncooled IR sensor technology

This paper presents an insight into advances in uncooled IR sensor technology. The paper does not speculate on long term futuristic concepts, but addresses what it should be possible to achieve during the next decade. Furthermore, the subject matter is mainly concerned with resistance microbolometer and associated sensor technology. Commercial sensitivity precludes detailed description of new initiatives in this field; however it is possible to outline key avenues of development. If the full potential of uncooled IR technology is to be realized, novel production methods will need to be introduced, particularly for the high volume consumer market. This will involve new detector concepts, focal plane array fabrication technology, readout and signal processing techniques, optical design, and packaging methods. This paper will discuss many of these issues, highlighting detector design, performance and fabrication.