Short wavelength infrared hybrid focal plane arrays

The employment of area focal plane arrays (FPA) has made it possible to obtain second generation infrared imaging systems with high resolution and sensitivity. The Short Wavelength Infrared (SWIR) region (1-2.5 microns) is of importance for imaging objects at high temperature and under conditions of reflected sunlight. The present investigation is concerned with electrooptical characterization results for 32 x 32 SWIR detector arrays and FPAs which are suitable for use in a prototype imaging spectrometer. The employed detector material is Hg(1-x)Cd(x)Te grown by liquid phase epitaxy on a CdTe transparent substrate. Attention is given to details of processing, the design of the detector array, the multiplexer, the fabrication of the hybrid FPA, and aspects of performance.