9 pm Cutoff 256 x 256 GaAslAlxGal - xAs Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector Focal Plane Array Camera

There are several applications that require long wavelength, large, uniform, reproducible, low cost, low 1/f noise, low power dissipation, and radiation hard infrared (IR) focal plane arrays (FPAs). For example, the absorption lines of many gas molecules, such as ozone, water, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrous oxide occur in the wavelength region from 3 to 18 pm. Thus, IR imaging systems that operate in the long wavelength IR (LWI R) region (6 -18 pm) are required in many space applications such as monitoring the global atmospheric temperature profiles, relative humidity profiles, cloud characteristics, and the distribution of minor constituents in the atmosphere which are being planned for NASA’s Earth Observing System [ 1]. In addition, 8 15 pm FPAs would be very useful in detecting cold objects such as ballistic missiles in midcourse (when a hot rocket engine is not burning most of the emission peaks are in the 8-15 pm IR region) [2]. The GaAs based Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) [3,4,5] is a potential candidate for such spaceborne and ground based applications and it can meet all of the requirements mentioned above for this spectral region.