Uncooled infrared focal plane producibility improvements at DRS

DRS has been conducting several significant ongoing efforts to improve the producibility of its uncooled infrared focal plane products (UIRFPA). Those efforts are described in this paper. First, pixel dimensions are being reduced by a factor of two or more, while maintaining NETD performance levels fully comparable to that of the previous standard similar to50-micron pixel size. The result for a given array size is smaller die size and more die per wafer. Second, DRS is transitioning UIRFPA production from its 5-inch wafer diameter process facility in Anaheim CA to its 6-inch wafer diameter process facility in Dallas TX, which results in more die per wafer and in enhanced wafer throughput capacity. Furthermore, the Dallas UFPA production facility is being tooled for a smooth future transition to 8-inch wafer processing. Third, a new ceramic UIRFPA vacuum package has been developed, which has lower material cost, fewer parts and assembly operations, and is lighter significantly weight than the current standard metal package. Since packaging is inherently the most expensive part of UIRFPA manufacture, packaging producibility improvements can provide significant cost leverage. Fourth, DRS is developing a batch-mode UIRFPA vacuum bake and sealing system, which will achieve significant throughput capacity gains, reduce touch labor requirements, and reduce production cycle times.