Uncooled focal plane array detector development at InfraredVision Technology Corporation

InfraredVision Technology Corporation ("ITC") has improved the performance of the 320x240 microbolometer Uncooled Focal Plane Array ("UFPA") by increasing the pixel fill-factor. This allows state-of-the-art performance for applications requiring high sensitivity. Measurements taken on microbolometer test structures and detector arrays show a factor of two improvements in the responsivity over that previously reported for our standard 37.5-mu m pixel UFPA. Performance results for microbolometer pixels ranging in size from 50 mu m down to 15 mu m are presented. Our ITC-1000 series detector product addresses both imaging and radiometric commercial-camera applications. With the development of a high fill-factor pixel design, ITC will soon provide a high-performance VOx microbolometer-based sensor to camera manufacturers requiring state-of-the-art detector performance. FPA performance is presented to demonstrate the sensor improvements accomplished. The use of our on-chip NonUniformity Correction (NUC) feature, available on the ITC-1000 detector, is characterized to demonstrate the performance limitations.