Optically-probed uncooled microelectromechanical system infrared (MEMS IR) detectors have many advantages over conventional uncooled (bolometric) detectors. These advantages include fabrication simplicity, robustness, high yield and low cost. We have implemented several designs in order to bridge the performance gap between MEMS-based and conventional uncooled thermal imagers. We used silicon d...

in this article, some diagnostic systems and the preliminary results of the ir-t1** (iran-tokamak 1) are presented. different diagnostic methods, including an array of soft x-ray detectors, visible spectrometer, electron cyclotron emission detector and electromagnetic measurement systems have been used and the hard disruptive instability occurring in the ir-t1 plasma during an ohmic heating dis...

The performance requirements for space-based IR imaging sensors are generally so severe that uncooled detector technologies have historically been ignored – and rightly so. The reasons for this have often been inaccurately represented on the basis of theoretical analysis with unnecessary assumptions. This paper shows that the performance of uncooled or minimallycooled IR detectors can approach ...

The Origins Space Telescope’s orders-of-magnitude improvement over the scientific capabilities of prior infrared (IR) missions is based on its cold telescope (4.5 K) combined with low-noise far-IR detectors and ultra-stable mid-IR detectors. A number trades were made in favor a design staged cooling, avoiding warm objects zones minimizing deployments their complexity. result an architecture tha...

This paper overviews the history of infrared detector materials starting with Herschel’s experiment with thermometer on February 11th, 1800. Infrared detectors are in general used to detect, image, and measure patterns of the thermal heat radia− tion which all objects emit. At the beginning, their development was connected with thermal detectors, such as ther− mocouples and bolometers, which ar...

The paper presents progress in optical detector technologies during the past 25 years. Classification of two types of detectors (photon detectors and thermal detectors) is done on the basis of their principle of operation. The overview of optical material systems and detectors is presented. Also recent progress in different technologies is described. Discussion is focused mainly on current and ...

Conventional SOI waveguide technology, serving as the foundation of near-IR photonics, meets its limitation in mid-IR due to high loss associated with the buried oxide. Silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) waveguides are considered as a good mid-IR alternative, because the transparency window of sapphire is up to 6 μm and SOS waveguides are compatible with SOI technology. We show that properly-designed SO...

Technologies for silicon process integration of infrared (IR) detector systems are driven by pursuits of low cost and high performance that are required for commercial viability. The high device yields that are commonplace in standard silicon integrated circuit (IC) manufacture are very attractive when applied to fabricating optoelectronic components with comparably superior uniformity and yiel...

Planar waveguide devices based on silicon-on-sapphire are emerging as a bridge between mid-infrared (IR) and near-IR wavelength through frequency conversion process. We analyze the limits of indirect detection of mid-IR signals by wavelength conversion in such waveguides and investigate signal-to-noise ratio improvement that is attainable with respect to direct detection using state of the art ...