HRL to Develop IR Curved Sensors

HRL Laboratories receives an award from the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, to develop spherically curved short-wave (SWIR) and medium wave (MWIR) infrared image sensors. This research will build on curved visible-light image sensor technology developed at HRL. The goal of the 12-month program is to develop fundamental technology and gain a better understanding of the effects of the bending process on the performance of III-V semiconductor SWIR and MWIR image sensors.

"Infrared sensors and their optics have different challenges than visible light imagers,” said Geoff McKnight, HRL’s principal investigator on the project. “One of which is that they often must be operated at very low temperatures, which introduces thermal stresses from the contraction of the sensors. After curving the sensors, we will have to cool them to cryogenic temperature for operation, and the combination of the thermal stresses and bending stresses may potentially degrade or fracture the detectors.”